Skin
by xNekorux
Summary: The death of the Piltover Enforcer sends the Sheriff spiraling down to oblivion. In the midst of her attempts in fending off her depression, Caitlyn finds herself in a situation that leaves her no choice but to cry out her dead partner's name. Will someone come to her call? Or will she be left screaming for someone that won't come? {Vi x Caitlyn} [Yuri]
1. Chapter 1

This story contains a bunch of **profanities, sexual humor, adult themes** and what not, so if you're bothered with that, don't force yourself to read this. ￣ˍ￣

Story rating may be considered as **Rated MA** for **Mature Audience**. Warnings may or may not be given on the start of a chapter whenever there's a scene **not suitable** for readers below **16-18 years old**. •﹏•

Every suggestion will be taken under consideration and will be given credit when your suggested idea will be used. (o^^)o

My stories are also not beta'd by anyone, so yeah. ✌

Credits from all images, including the picture of the cover, belongs to the rightful owners. I merely edited the cover, which I found on Google. ╮（╯◇╰）╭

I DO **NOT** CLAIM THE GAME, LEAGUE OF LEGENDS OR THE IMAGES. CREDITS BELONG TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS AND CREATORS.

In advance, I apologize if there are any typos and grammatical errors. English is not my native language, it's Tagalog, so, yeah! ﹋o﹋

I hope you readers enjoy the story! ∩_∩

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **ACT 1**

The red and blue light of the sirens practically colored the whole block, dozens of police vehicles parked all over the road. The sky was dark, yet no star seem to be brave enough to present itself to anyone below them. Police officers moved around busily, every each one of them having their minds set in certain tasks.

One certain officer though, specifically the Sheriff, seems to be out of herself. Caitlyn just watched with a blank expression as her fellow officers bustled around her, some exiting the apartment building they had surrounded.

Everything around her, every sound that blared and rang, it all remained mute in her ears.

Despite the absence of any shootouts, Caitlyn's sense of hearing was filled with the sound of a deafening gunshot. It was distant and at the same time not. Her fingers unconsciously flexed around the rifle she held as she breathed in.

"Sheriff,"

Caitlyn's gaze, which was staring into nothing, snapped towards the officer that had approached her. She had always been so alert with her surroundings, always aware of everything around her, but lately, the behavior she's been showing makes the former somewhat questionable. Once she fully returned to reality, the noises reached her ears and the chilly night registered to her senses.

"What is it?"

"We already apprehended the guys inside. Turns out, the info you got was right. We found some kids at the basement, which confirms the human trafficking we heard about."

She nodded. She knew for sure that there were children being held in this specific location. After all, she had not investigated this lead alone to begin with. In fact, it wasn't even her that had opened this case in the first place.

It was _her_.

"I'm sure you can handle everything from here on." She said as she headed towards her Hextech cruiser.

The officer followed. "Yes, ma'am. We'll have the children back to their homes and those felons in a cell before you know it."

Caitlyn didn't bother dismissing the officer verbally. She just slipped inside her vehicle and drove out of the scene, feeling drained. It was just like every day ever since _her_ death. Call it a routine for the Sheriff.

Countless city lights and bright shop signs flashed before her as she sped down the main road of Piltover, passing a few civilian vehicles in the process. Her eyes remained glued to the road ahead of her, not even daring to glance away from the pavement.

Regardless of her current internal feeling, Caitlyn held no plans in going home immediately. She still wants to go somewhere, somewhere she needs to be at.

The small screen installed on the dashboard lit up, showing the capitalized words of _'INCOMING CALL'_ in the miniature monitor. Caitlyn tapped a finger over the red icon, not wanting to speak to anyone presently. She never was one to reject calls so brazenly, knowing some of them may actually be important, but within this time frame, nothing mattered to her.

The only thing that held relevance to her in that moment was the destination she had in mind.

Her vehicle came to a halt in front of a rundown warehouse, the engine turning off with a single tap of her finger on the screen. She exited the vehicle and locked it, bringing her rifle with her as she approached the door-less entrance of the poorly-kept warehouse.

As she walked inside the dark shadowy structure, she could hear voices, voices identical to hers, echoing inside her head, screaming and crying so distantly, so brokenly. It's as if there were ghosts that haunted the building.

At the back of her mind, she was thankful that her rifle has a strap, or else she would have dropped it in that moment. She approached the rust-covered stairs leading to the rooftop of the warehouse, her boots lowly thumping against the worn-out metal.

Every step she took, it felt like her boots became heavier, her rifle becoming more of a baggage for her to carry instead of an important tool of survival. With a light push, the door at the top of the stairway swung open with a loud and annoying creak.

The door no longer obscured the rooftop from her vision and she nearly broke down, especially when she saw one specific corner, a corner painted with blood that had long dried. The scrapes of paint and dents on the wall can still be clearly seen, in spite of the dried crimson that blanketed it.

Caitlyn wanted to hurl, scream and cry at the same time, if it were possible. She internally cursed and damned herself to Hell itself when her mind conjured up the image of a person. A person she held so dearly close to her heart, slumped against the wall, large gauntlets laying broken on either sides of hers, fresh blood dripping from the discernable wound on her chest.

She suppressed a choked sob and made sure her tears remained withheld within its confines, her feet taking her closer to the corner she has her eyes focused on. When her knees hit the ground, she couldn't take it anymore, she knew that she isn't strong enough to prevent herself from crying right then and there.

One by one, tears fell from her eyes, clear drops falling on her own lap. Reaching forward, her fingertips grazed againts a blood-stained part of wall. It's _her_ blood.

With trembling hands, she pulled a small lever from her rifle, making a bullet pop out from the side, which she caught before it could tumble to the ground.

Taking hold of that bullet, she slowly and quaveringly placed it beside the three similar bullets lined up in front of her. They're the same bullets she had left from her previous visits, all of them remaining untouched.

"Vi…" She whispered quietly. "I don't know… if I can last any longer…"

A fingertip caressed the recently placed bullet.

"It's been a month… and…"

Caitlyn's teeth clenched, just like her fists and her eyes shut close tightly.

"I miss you…"

She didn't know how long she stayed in that position, the wind blowing and causing her hair to fly slightly. She always did this every week, paying her own tribute to her departed partner.

Numerous ideas crossed her mind every single day, her mind proposing for her to do unspeakable things to just end the pain. Thankfully, she still had the will to stop herself. The thought of disappointing Vi is too much for her to ignore.

She had to admit, a few days ago, she wanted to end it all. Her rifle's muzzle was already staring directly at her, one of her fingers was oh so ready to pull the trigger.

But, she couldn't do it.

Vi would not have wanted her to take her life for her.

Caitlyn felt completely responsible for Vi's death. Instead of going out on their usual patrols together, she had assigned Vi to finish their evening patrol alone due to the paperwork she had to take care of.

She hated herself.

Why?

If only she had known that was the last time she was going to see Vi, maybe she would have done something, said something else, not "How many times have I told you? No means no, Vi. Just go and do the patrol."

Vi had asked her to go out on a date with her for the umpteenth time ever since they met each other, and, like she had always done, she bluntly declined it. Instead of being offended or saddened, only a little pout was found on Vi's face before she bid a quick goodbye and left.

Now, she has no chance to tell Vi everything she kept to herself, the subdued feelings that was once unidentified but was now clarified. She desperately wished that she had met with clarity earlier than she had. All of the time that were wasted and ticked away, she could never have them back.

The only thing she could do now was just mourn and profess her feelings to the cold and bitter evening.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _The first chapter of "Skin" is now out! Yaaayyy~! Well! I'm taking a break from my Frozen Lotus stories and will be working on a well-known pairing in the League. Piltover's Finest! :D They're my second favorite pair in the League. 3_

 _Although, my two other pairings, Frozen Lotus and Eclipse, will probably make cameos in this story, only if I get myself those opportunities. ;)_

 _This story shall be continued once "You Don't Own Me" is finished. ^_^_

 _For those who want to see a bunch of drabbles involving the Frozen Lotus ship, check my Wattpad profile out and the story uploaded there going by the title, "Everyday Life of Frozen Lotus". It contains a bunch of random shorts that stars the Frozen Lotus pair. Sometimes my other two favorites also appear there, so, yeah. :3_

 _I hope I see you readers in the next chapter! ^u^_

 _(This chapter was updated and slightly edited, July 4, 2018)_


	2. Chapter 2

**ACT 2**

The sunlight pouring through the window illuminated the once dark room with natural brightness, making the person sleeping on the bed much more noticeable than before. The shadows were banished, yet the darkness inside Caitlyn's chest remained as dark as the Void itself.

Inside, she could feel a small twinge of regret inside her. When she had separated from her parents and decided to live independently, she ended up residing at a wide unit at an apartment building. Every morning, she found herself regretting that she chose a unit at the highest floor of a building. When she had bought it, she thought of it as her own personal sniper's nest.

She forced her eyes to open and for her to sit up on the bed. Unlike the days before Vi had died, Caitlyn truly detested the task of waking up. She just wanted everything to end whenever she catches her slumber.

Every night, there are only two possible evening rituals for her. Either she cries over her fallen deputy until her tears can flow no more, or she looks through the photos she had compiled in dozens of photo albums, and as expected, her tears accompany her during those moments.

Caitlyn fully knows that the people at the department can see her bloodshot eyes and the dark rims under them whenever she came in for work, yet she couldn't bring herself to care about what they may think about it. The make-up she applies to hide them does no justice, so she showed no more effort in doing anything else to conceal them.

"Oh, Vi..." Caitlyn breathed out, running a hand through her hair, while the other clutched the sheets in a death-grip.

Vi's death was _unforeseen_. Despite Caitlyn seeing Vi put herself in harm's way every time they're out on a dangerous chase, she always knew that her partner will emerge somewhat unscathed in the end.

Yes, she worries whenever Vi jumps in to precarious situations without much of a thought, but in the end, it always ended with her scolding the pinkette for her reckless display of behavior. She never anticipated that she'd be greatly affected with Vi's unanticipated passing. It tore her to pieces, burned her to ashes and damned her to her personal space of oblivion.

Caitlyn wanted to cry, just like all the times that she had been doing for the past few days. The thought of continuing with her life without Vi by her side, it nearly sends a bile to rise up her throat. She's sickened to the very core to think of such thought.

Yet, isn't that what awaits her in the future?

With all the reluctance in Runeterra, Caitlyn released her grasp on the sheets and left the bed. She didn't bother arranging it, proceeding to the bathroom with her now usual zombie-like condition.

Due to her state of mind being completely out of her, she didn't notice the hooded person perched at the fire exit just outside her bedroom window. The stranger smiled and pulled its grey hood lower to cover more of its face before turning around and going down the fire exit with haste, feeling quite happy to _'share'_ the sunrise with the Sheriff of Piltover.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

One of the perks in driving early in the morning was that no traffic can be seen. Only a few cars are present around the streets, which gives Caitlyn no problem in getting to her workplace.

As soon as she had arrived at the police station and parked her police cruiser in her reserved slot, she climbed up the steps in front of the building and planned to go straight to the morgue, which is where her partner's body is being kept.

The investigation to find Vi's killer was still ongoing and as much as she wanted to, Vi's corpse was labeled as evidence. As long as the investigation isn't complete, Vi's body will remain in the morgue and won't be put in a coffin for a proper burial.

"Sheriff!"

Keeping in the urge to sigh, Caitlyn turned herself around and faced whoever it was that had called her by her title. She found herself looking at the son of one of Piltover's government officials. She managed to recall the time when she and Vi saved him when he was kidnapped for ransom. While Vi handled the goons that took him captive, Caitlyn got him out of the vicinity.

His name's Villiam, if she remembers correctly.

"Morning to you, Mister Kinsley." She greeted in the most reserved manner.

"Oh, please, just Villiam." He chuckled, stopping once he had climbed the steps and was on the same level as her. "Or Vi, if you want."

The shift on Caitlyn's aura and demeanor was noticeable, which made the guy look away and cough quietly under his breath. Obviously, he made a mistake that he was actually worthy of the nickname he suggested.

"I'd rather not." The Sheriff replied in a much clipped tone than before. "Now, if you'd excuse me, Mister Kinsley, I still have a case to handle, particularly my partner's."

"Right, well… Maybe once you finish work, I can take you out for dinner?"

"I politely decline your offer, Mister Kinsley. Again, if you'd excuse me." Caitlyn turned and continued on her way again, not bothering in seeing if she had offended the man or not. She heard a sigh and a bunch of footsteps, so she assumed that he already took the hint and left.

Goodness, was he the only one who doesn't see her the way she looks right now? The state she's displaying to the entire city? She's an absolute _wreck_. Why on earth would he actually be interested in her?

"Caitlyn!"

Halting her steps and prompting a quiet huff, Caitlyn looked over to the caller of her name and prepared herself to give the man a piece of her mind. She taken by slight surprise when she found herself looking at a friend of hers. The Defender of Tomorrow. He approached her with a casual expression, his Mercury Hammer in hand, just like always.

"Jayce," She greeted in a formal tone, her voice sounding almost blank. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd know." Jayce said with a mildly surprised look, confusing her.

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't heard about Vi?"

Caitlyn casted her gaze away as soon as she heard her late deputy's name, her chest suddenly becoming filled with an ache no medicine can cure. Disregarding the pang from within herself, she fixed her gaze back to Jayce.

"What about her?"

"Caitlyn..." Jayce scratched the back of his head, while he searched for the appropriate words to say what's needed to be heard. He honestly did not want to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like he has no choice but to be one. "Vi's body, it... disappeared."

Her eyes widened as soon as Jayce completed his sentence. Thousands of thoughts ran through her head as Jayce's words sunk in her brain, each syllable feeling like a scorching burn against her own mind. Her mouth opened and closed for at least a few times before she managed to sputter out a one-word response.

"What!?"

Jayce opened his mouth to try in calming her, but she had already spun around and rushed inside the department, shoving the doors open and immediately heading towards the hall leading to the morgue at the back area of the building. The hammer-wielding man followed after her in an instant.

The calls of her name fell on deaf ears, the futile attempts of her co-workers trying to stop her to speak with her about the situation at hand, they held no relevance for her. Caitlyn's mind was set in getting to the crime scene, and she won't let anyone delay her or get in her way.

After countless steps, she finally reached the morgue. The officers taking pictures of the scene immediately parted way for her as she stepped past them and approached the hole on the wall, which overlooks an alley. The alleyway also had Piltover officers searching around and taking necessary photographs.

Caitlyn stood just in front of the hole, one hand stroking one of its jagged edges. The hole wasn't that big, but it isn't really considered small either.

"Sheriff," A male officer came forward. "Officer Vi's...-"

"Where's her body?" Caitlyn asked, struggling in not letting her voice tremble.

The officer bowed his head, a guilty expression on his face. "There are no traces of her body, ma'am."

"No traces?" She turned to face the officer, a look of disbelief and anger on her face. "How could there be no traces?"

The man hunched his shoulders a bit. "We've already did a search within a five mile radius...-!"

"Expand your search, then!" Caitlyn snapped. "This is not an ordinary case of a missing body, officer! This is Vi's body! The Deputy's! The Enforcer! _My_ partner! I do not want any of you to rest, even for a second, until her body is recovered!"

Looking around, her enraged expression caused a few of the officers near her to take a step back out of fear. Caitlyn didn't really care how her colleagues saw her in that moment. She can be the terror of all their nightmares and she wouldn't even give a damn about it.

No, all of her attention...

 _All_ of it will be focused on this case.

"Do we have a clear understanding, officers?" She questioned, her eyes darting between one officer after another.

"Yes, ma'am!" Most of them answered back in unison.

Caitlyn bowed her head and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling as she raised her head back up. She looked towards the fallen steel table at the side. It's the same table Vi's body was on before it suddenly disappeared.

The Sheriff didn't bother saying any excuses as she walked out of the morgue, her legs taking her to her office. As soon as she was inside the office, she slammed the door close, placing her back against it. Everything that had happened for the past five minutes whirled around her head, her brain processing it with great difficulty.

Her quivering lips pursed in a tight line as her tears began to pool in her eyes again. She clenched her teeth as she slid down to the floor, her hat toppling off her head and her rifle falling beside her with an audible thud. She held her legs against her chest as her tears started to run down her face.

The agony inside of her grew and grew until she could feel the shards of her heart course through her whole body and pierce every single nerve of hers. Her chest heaved unevenly as she took ragged breaths, her curled form trembling visibly.

"Vi..." She choked out through her tears. "Please... Don't play games with me... I can't... I just can't..."

Caitlyn desperately wanted Vi to just appear in her office and join her at the floor to pull her in a reassuring embrace, to cradle her until her tears could come no more.

The space around her may be great, but it slowly disappeared in her eyes. The walls her mind had conjured up was closing in from all sides, and the suffocation threatened to kill her internally. It made her head hurt, her chest ache and every other part of hers agonized.

Hands balled into fists, she forced herself to get up from the cold wooden floor, her rifle and hat forgotten. Stomping towards her desk, she grabbed the desktop monitor of her computer and threw it towards the file cabinet at the side. A satisfying crack reached her ears as its screen shattered upon impact. Next to suffer her rage was the neat stack of files on one side of the desk. She grabbed all of them and threw it across the room, scattering various documents all over the floor.

She took a step back and placed her a boot-covered foot on the side of the desk. With a furious cry, she kicked the desk back, causing the mentioned furniture to tumble down and off its rightful place. Following all of that were the file cabinets at the side. Caitlyn kicked it to the side, her boot making a visible dent on it as it fell down the floor with a loud thud that's surely been heard by everyone in the department.

Caitlyn released a pained and infuriated yell after she gave the fallen cabinet another angered kick. Backing off from it, she drew the pistol she has in her hidden thigh holster and pointed it at the framed certificates and awards hung on the walls of her office.

 ** _Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!_**

Every other gunshot was accompanied by Caitlyn's agonized cries, more tears pouring out of her bloodshot eyes. Ever since the night of Vi's death, Caitlyn despised hearing the deafening sound of a gunshot.

 ** _Bang! Bang!_**

Each bullet that was launched by the pistol broke Caitlyn more and more from within, destroying her to her very core.

Every time she heard the pistol's loud bang, her surroundings would change. She would find herself standing at a rooftop of an abandoned warehouse, not in her office. It became a dreary night, not a bright sunny day. In front of her, it wasn't the certificates she was shooting. In the place of those awards was none other than Vi herself, blood seeping out of her chest and snatching her life away from her before she could even blink.

Vi looked down to her bleeding wounds before gazing up to her.

"Cait..."

Tears shrouded her vision and she was fucking thankful for that. She clenched her eyes shut and placed her hands, including the one that held her pistol, against her ears as she screamed.

"VIIIIII!"

 ** _BANG!_**

The fluorescent light above her shattered and her ears were suddenly filled with a painful sonic-like ringing. Caitlyn's breathing had become completely unsteady. She put all the strength she can give in opening her eyes to gaze back to the hallucination her mind has conjured up.

"Caitlyn!" The bleeding pinkette rushed forward.

Caitlyn expected to be caught by the person she utterly needs, so she let herself collapse and give in. Sadly, she ended up falling down the hard floor, no one there to catch her but her own hands. She shut her eyes again as she threw the now empty pistol to the side as she banged her fists against the ground.

 ** _Crack! Crack! Crack!_**

Despite hearing and feeling the cracking of a glass beneath her fists, she didn't stop. She can feel the small shards of glass embedding into her fist, but the pain never reached her clouded mind. It felt like hours that she struck the floor with her fists, but she soon stopped. In the midst of her pounding, she had slammed her palms down for a few times, lodging small pieces of glass in her once flawless skin.

Opening her eyes, she breathed in and out as she gazed at her bloodied hands.

 _'It's not enough...'_ She thought, her never-ending tears trailing down and staining her face more. _'The pain... It's not enough...'_

She lowered her hands and found herself gazing at a picture littered with broken pieces of a frame, bits of glass and droplets of blood. It's a picture of her and Vi, the same one that was displayed on her once neat desk.

Vi was grinning at the camera she's holding, one arm slung around the Sheriff's shoulder. Caitlyn had humored Vi's behavior that time and decided to just flash a genuine smile to get the picture taken and over with.

"Vi..." She said the pinkette's name in a broken whisper. "I'm sorry..."

Her tears fell from her eyes and landed on the once framed picture.

"I'm so sorry... I couldn't save you..."

Vi always said Caitlyn was too good for her.

No, Vi was wrong.

Caitlyn realized that _Vi_ was the one too good for her.

Vi had always been there to watch over her, to catch her when she literally falls, to save her from Jinx's rockets, to make her smile whenever she's stressed, to openly take a bullet for her or to just make her feel... complete.

Caitlyn wished she could have been the one to take the bullet this time. The faded scars the coroner had found on Vi's body, more than half of them were supposed to be Caitlyn's. If Vi hadn't stopped this, if Vi hadn't blocked that, Caitlyn would be the one walking around with those scars. She may even be dead now if it weren't for her Deputy.

With shaky fingers, she took the picture in her hands and held it right against her beating heart, her desolated cries and strained sobs the only sound in the room.

She didn't know how long had passed, but Caitlyn managed to obtain a small ounce of energy to stand up after she cradled the image in her hands. It took a while before she could stand on her two stable feet, and when she did, the door quietly opened and revealed Jayce and their department's clinic doctor.

"Caitlyn… I think you should go home for today." Jayce said after a wave of hesitance washed over him, his eyes flickering to the sniper's bleeding hands. Not only that, but there were also a few glasses embedded in her legs, which caused a trail or two of crimson to trickle over her skin.

Caitlyn stared distractedly, her lips parting as she spoke. "I'm sorry..."

Jayce shook his head at her as he approached and guided her out of her now destroyed office. "You have nothing to say sorry for, Cait."

"I do." She said, letting Jayce lead her to another room. "I'm sorry..."

"Cait...-"

"I'm sorry Vi's dead."

They both stopped at the doorway of the room they entered, which turned out to be Vi's office. Jayce watched with a woeful look in his eyes as Caitlyn approached Vi's desk, standing right in front of it as if she was an officer about to report to her superior.

"Vi..." Caitlyn whispered, gazing at the vacant office seat. "I'm terribly sorry... I couldn't... I couldn't be there for you..."

As her apology left her lips, Caitlyn's legs, once again, gave out. She ended up on the floor again, the photo of her and Vi still in her injured hands.

"I love you, Vi... I wish I had realized it sooner... Told you sooner... Loved you sooner... I'm _truly_ sorry..."

Jayce stood at the doorway and let her have a moment's worth of time before he ushered the doctor to approach Caitlyn with him. She needed medical attention, and he wasn't going to let her delay him from having her receive it.

After her wounds were taken care of and carefully patched up, the doctor told Jayce to take Caitlyn home. The Sheriff didn't put up a fight. As Jayce escorted her out of the department, the officers that they passed gave their promises and vows to give their all to find Vi's body and the murderer who's responsible for the Enforcer's death.

Picture still in her now bandaged hand, Caitlyn stopped at the very entrance of the department and turned to face her fellow officers, who all stood straight as they waited for their Sheriff to say what she has to say.

The officers were caught off-guard when Caitlyn presented a devastated smile, their hearts breaking at how dejected their once headstrong and strong-willed superior.

"Thank you."

They never thought they would feel their hearts ache so painfully for their Sheriff. It fueled their determination in recovering their fallen Deputy's body.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

Jayce watched quietly as Caitlyn laggardly searched for the key of her apartment, one hand holding the picture she took from the department and one hand checking her pockets and holsters in a snail's pace. Just by looking at the Sheriff, it's painstakingly obvious that she's entirely distraught.

"Umm... Caitlyn?"

"Hmm?" Came the nearly inaudible response.

"I think... you should take a break."

"Break?" Caitlyn still remained in her distracted state, not really understanding what Jayce meant. "What break?"

"I think you should let the me and the other officers handle Vi's case."

Caitlyn, who had just pulled out her key from inside one of her holsters, abruptly halted her movements. It took more than just a couple of seconds before she lifted her head up and directed it to the Defender of Tomorrow.

"You want me to do what?" Caitlyn questioned back, the incredulity she feels showing on her face.

"Listen," Jayce could feel a pinch of regret in leaving his Mercury Hammer at his car, especially when he found himself face to face with the rage that flashed in Caitlyn's eyes. He swallowed quietly before continuing with his point. "After you... broke down earlier, the doctor told me that it would be best if you take, I don't know, maybe a month off?"

"A _month_?" Those two words were laced with venom that Jayce felt like he would have been poisoned now if Caitlyn possessed the abilities of the Serpent's Embrace.

"Alright, a week!" He conceded immediately, taking half a step back and raising his hands in surrender.

"You want me to go on a _senseless_ vacation instead of lending my assistance to Vi's case?"

"Caitlyn, please. Don't be so stubborn now." Jayce sighed, hands still raised in front of him. He was prepared to defend himself if Caitlyn were to become violent with her. A side of him doubted that someone like Caitlyn would do such barbaric act, but another side of his told him to at least keep his guard up and prepare for the worst. "You need this."

"No," Caitlyn disagreed with a hard tone. "I need to find Vi."

"You need to rest first! Look at yourself!" Jayce then gestured towards her face. "You have bloodshot eyes, heavy eyebags! Cait, you were practically _bleeding_ all over your office earlier! You _need_ to take a break. Please, do it. It's for your own good."

"Jayce, I don't...-"

Already sensing that another objection was on its way, Jayce decided to cut Caitlyn off before she could finish what she intended to say.

"Fine, don't do it for yourself." He said, immediately adding, "But do it for Vi."

...

...

...

Jayce ran a hand through his hair, stressed, as he looked at Caitlyn to see how his words affected her. He can already see the Sheriff's eyes turn glassy, tears layering over those turquoise-colored eyes. It's not that he wanted her to cry. He just wanted to make her see his point.

"Caitlyn... Vi wouldn't want to see you like this. You won't be able to find her if you keep doing this to yourself." He explained, not at all delighted with the reason he gave. Despite not being proud of it, he very well knew it was the only reason that can get through Caitlyn. "Take a rest. Not for you, but for Vi, alright? It's just a week. As soon as the week is done, you can go back to work."

"Why...?" Caitlyn asked in a manner just above a whisper. "Why do you have to bring _her_ into this?"

Jayce sighed before placing both of his hands on Caitlyn's shoulders. "Because Vi is the only reason you'll listen to."

Turning away and slipping Jayce's hands off, Caitlyn faced her apartment's door again and inserted her key into its slot. As soon as she twisted it, a keypad emerged from the wall, which Caitlyn used to enter a code that finally unlocked the door of her unit.

"Nice security." Jayce found himself complimenting, a small attempt in lightening the mood between them, even if it was just a bit.

"Vi installed it." Caitlyn stated, twisting the now unlocked knob and pushing her door open.

Well, his intention was _nicely_ received. He would have given himself a face-palm if it wouldn't look so out of place in that moment.

"Jayce,"

"Yes?" He instantly responded back.

"Can you... keep me posted? On Vi's case."

Jayce smiled, but the curve didn't reach his eyes. At least his words were getting through. Caitlyn relented and had taken the option of taking a break. "I'll send you a message whenever there's a development."

"Thank you."

Regardless of what Caitlyn's internally feeling, her bid of thanks showed her sincerity. Jayce nodded his head and said his goodbyes to her before turning away and taking his leave.

Caitlyn stepped inside her apartment, closed the door behind her and made sure it was locked, carrying her rifle as if it weighed more than its original weight. Instead of storing the rifle to its rightful place, she just dropped it at one side of the hall.

Her feet halted when she was about to pass a mirror. It seemed that, at the back of her mind, she couldn't let herself proceed further into her apartment without looking at her current state of appearance. Just like what Jayce had described, she looked horrible. Anyone that could see her now probably wouldn't even recognize her as Piltover's Sheriff.

She took her hat off her head and placed it on a nearby table, dropping her keys in a small glass bowl. Feeling not an ounce of hunger, she decided to just go straight towards her bedroom. As she opened the door of her bedroom, she ended up looking at a room that looks to have seen better, and cleaner, days.

Admittedly, she hadn't been herself ever since her partner's demise, which very much explained the disarrayed state of her room.

Still feeling too drained to move around and about, Caitlyn entered the room and picked up one of the photo albums on the floor, lightly tossing it to the bed, where dozens of crumpled tissue papers can be seen. She gathered them all and threw it inside a nearby bin, settling herself on the bed and taking the album back in her grasp.

She placed the leather book on her lap, but she didn't open it immediately. Rather than doing that, she just brought up the image she already had in hand. She lifted a bandaged finger up and stroked Vi's cheerful face in the picture, silently hoping that it was actually Vi's real face that her fingertip caressed.

Closing her eyes, she raised the picture up and gently kissed it. A single tear trickling from one of her eyes and slowly trailed down her face. She pulled it away and focused her eyes on the album on her lap. She opened it and almost smiled when she saw a picture of Vi, dressed in her officer uniform and grinning back at the camera.

She can remember the day when this specific photo was taken. Caitlyn had tried having Vi take up a much formal expression, but, like what the photo presented, the pinkette had other plans.

Below the mentioned image was a fair space enough for the photo Caitlyn currently had in her hand, and it made her think for a moment that it might actually be faith that the picture belongs in that specific spot.

Caitlyn situated the picture until it occupied the once vacant space in the album's front page. Satisfied with her little work, she closed the photo album and laid herself on her pillows, leather book in her arms.

"Sweet dreams, Vi..." She whispered to the air, her consciousness drifting away from her.

Just like every last conscious moment, the only thought in Caitlyn's mind was her fallen partner's ever-beaming face. At her bedroom window though, the same hooded figure from this morning was present again, looking into the room with a smile.

"Sweet dreams, Sheriff."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _I was in the middle of looking through my drafts and all when I found this in the "Piltover's Finest" folder, which made me think, **"Well, I'm almost finished with You Don't Own Me."** Well! That's the reason why this one's been updated earlier than I intended. xD _

_By the way, I edited the first chapter, but it was just a bit. You readers can reread it if you want. :3_

 _Second reason why I updated this was because… I was being lazy in continuing the latest chapter of "You Don't Own Me" xD (The Vi x Caitlyn hype was getting to me after I surfed my phone's gallery earlier, which contains A LOT of pictures of these two :P)_

 _That, and my older sister (who is a total Vi x Caitlyn shipper) was looking over the computer desk while I was playing League earlier and she was like, **"When are you going to update "Skin"?"**_

 _Unlike my brother, she doesn't go through my files and snoops for an (not uploaded) update for her favorite story. xD_

 _Anywayyyyy! To the readers that had asked me, yes, this is a VI x CAITLYN story, not a Vi x OC or Caitlyn x OC, or any other pairings involving these two, so hopefully I have answered the questions for the others who didn't ask but was wondering._

 _And yes, I'll finish "You Don't Own Me" now, (Frozen Lotus) readers! xD I'm not going touch this story until I finish that, I promise! *crosses fingers behind her back*_

 _Until the next update~! ^u^_


	3. Chapter 3

**ACT 3**

It's been three days ever since she started her little break and in all honesty, Caitlyn felt like she was going to go mad. Ever since Vi left the world of the living, the crime rate in Piltover skyrocketed. Caitlyn also noticed that after she went on this vacation of hers, it increased even more. The criminals knew that Piltover's Finest was no more. Piltover was theirs to terrorize.

For the past three days, Caitlyn would hear the sirens and distant gunshots coming from all around the city. The criminals were obviously taking advantage of the lack of presence of the unstoppable duo of officers.

Caitlyn needed to do something. Unfortunately, if she were to do such, no one would be there to assist her. The person that perfectly fit that role was gone, which left the lone Sheriff in being Piltover's last hope for peace and order.

She had just gotten off one of the couches in the living room when she heard a knock come from her apartment's front door. As she made her way to the door to answer it, behind her, the grey-hooded stranger was back again. The person tugged their hood down as if to hide their face before standing up and leaving, not wanting to get caught. After all, they've been there for quite a long time. They had even seen Caitlyn dress and truthfully, it was a very arousing sight, regardless of the woman's current emotional state.

While Caitlyn clutched the door, preparing in twisting it and opening the door, the person at her fire exit was gone. The moment Caitlyn opened her door, a mixture of shock and surprise hit her.

"You!" The Loose Cannon shouted at her, shoving a finger at her direction and using said digit to roughly poke her back and further inside her apartment unit. Caitlyn couldn't believe that she stepped back in response instead of fighting back like she expected herself to do. "It's all because of _you_!"

"Jinx!" She grunted, pushing the young maniac's hand away from her and stopping another incoming poke. "Who do you think…-!"

"I am?" Jinx finished for her, looking at her with those red eyes of hers. "I was _her_ best friend!"

"Who…-"

"I'm talking about _Fat Hands_ , dammit!" Jinx, instead of assaulting her, just shoved her aside and walked up to a nearby window. She pointed at the view the window offered and turned to Caitlyn. "If she hadn't decided to go and play cops with you, then maybe she'd still be alive!"

"Jinx!" Caitlyn, who finally regained some sense and collected herself from the confusing situation, came forward and grabbed Jinx' arm. "If you only came here to blame her death on me, then…-"

"Hat Lady, please!" Unexpectedly, Jinx pulled her arm back and loosely grasped Caitlyn's arms, slowly falling to her knees as she looked up to the Sheriff's eyes. "You have to help me find a way!"

"Find a way to what?" She asked, trying to get out of the gunner's clutches.

"Find a way to bring Fat Hands back to life!" Jinx abruptly shot up and back on her feet again. She began pacing around the room, looking like she was searching the deepest part of her brain to concoct a solution for the _'problem'_. "We probably need some sort of life-resurrecting thingamajig to get it done."

"Hold on a moment," Caitlyn demanded, grabbing Jinx's right shoulder and putting a stop at her pacing. "You can't just barge in my apartment like this. You have quite the nerve coming here. You're a _criminal_."

"Yeah, and so was Fat Hands, but here you are crying over her like a big baby." Jinx retorted with exaggeratedly pouted lips and narrowed eyes.

Caitlyn stared back at the gunner, appalled that Jinx had shamelessly insulted and said those emotionally painful words to her. "How dare…-"

"But, Jinx!" Much to Caitlyn's surprise, Jinx jumped a step back and grabbed Fishbones, whose mouth she began to control as it _'spoke'_ to her. "You cried over Fat Hands, too!"

"Yeah!" This time, it was Pow-Pow that _'spoke'_. " _You're_ the crybaby here!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Jinx hissed at her weapons, looking between the Gatling Gun and the Rocket Launcher. "Whose side are you two on? Mine or Hat Lady's?"

Caitlyn shook her head and started towards the telephone. She had no time to deal with Jinx and the _'spectacle'_ she was performing right in front of her, especially if the Loose Cannon only intended to talk to her about Vi and blame her for her partner's death.

"Hey!" Caitlyn gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and something cold against her nape. Behind her, Jinx had Zap pointed directly at her, wearing an expression that looks more comical rather than intimidating. Nonetheless though, Jinx means business. "I wasn't finished talking to you."

Stopping herself from gritting her teeth, Caitlyn questioned, "What do you want, then?"

"I told you, didn't I? I _want_ Fat Hands back!"

Her fists clenched.

"I want her up and running again! Chasing me while you set your stupid traps and I blow up buildings!"

"She's gone, Jinx." The sniper grunted, fists trembling. Despite being angry with Jinx, she couldn't help but hurt herself with her own words. The more she emphasized that Vi was dead, the more she rubbed salt on her wounds, which have been bleeding ever since that depressing day. "All you can do is accept it."

Caitlyn felt the electric pistol begin to quiver against her nape before it was suddenly pulled away.

"No!"

The Sheriff grunted and fell down the floor once Jinx had hit her with the butt of the weapon, a furious expression on her pale face. Caitlyn held the place where Jinx had struck her, looking up and glaring at her fellow marksman.

"She's _not_ dead!" Jinx yelled at her, shaking Zap directly at her face. "Not dead! Not dead! _Not_ dead!"

"Why fool ourselves with a lie?" Caitlyn asked the raging female, gazing up to the younger female with disbelief. "You think I enjoy repeating myself? You think I _adore_ the fact that she had died?"

"Of course you do! You hate criminals, don't you?" Realization then crossed Jinx's face. A new wave of rage consumed the blue-haired girl, who decided to put Zap away and point Pow-Pow instead at the fallen woman in front of her. "You were the one who shot her, weren't you?"

Caitlyn's eyes widened with incredulity, her entire being becoming livid. She was enraged that Jinx would actually accuse her of doing such unspeakable act.

"I would never!"

Jinx's hands, which tightly grasped Pow-Pow, visibly trembled and when Caitlyn maintained their intense eye contact, she found tears rapidly welling up in the Zaunite's eyes, teeth leaving its clenched state and lips pursing tightly as it quivered. For a moment, Caitlyn thought Jinx would finally grant her the death she was longing for. She thought the gunner would finally pull the trigger and fill her body with bullet holes, life leaving her eyes once it was done.

It might take her away from the land of the living, but maybe it will allow her to chase the sky with the Enforcer she had fallen deeply in love with.

…..

…..

…..

…..

…..

"Then why…?" Came Jinx's crestfallen question, her tears falling. "Why is she dead, Cait…?"

Caitlyn could only stare as Jinx's crazy mask shattered to pieces, revealing a broken teenager weeping for her murdered friend. The way the Zaunite had said her name, it sounded as if she was begging for an answer she wants to hear. An answer that Caitlyn could not give her unless she resorted in offering her lies.

"You know what," Jinx let her guns go, harshly wiping away her tears with her forearm. "It was useless to come here. You're as stupid as Fat Hands anyway."

When Caitlyn didn't break eye contact, Jinx decided to continue.

"You know why you two are stupid?" Jinx rhetorically asked her. "Because you two _'cared'_ for each other. Pfft!"

Jinx turned away after scoffing and stomped towards the front door, yanking the panel open. Before she left though, she looked over her shoulder, glaring at Caitlyn, whose gaze was casted down to the floor.

"It's unfair!" Jinx whined with a childish stomp on the floor, her grip on the doorknob tightening. "She cared for you _more_ than you cared for her!"

 _ **Slam!**_

Caitlyn lowered her gaze and blankly stared down at the polished floor, Jinx's words echoing in her thoughts. Despite each and every one of them being uttered by a havoc-wreaking lunatic, her words somehow rang with nothing but the truth.

Before Vi had unexpectedly passed, Caitlyn saw her as nothing but her partner. A dear friend, yes, but not as someone she would love with every fiber of her now heartbroken being.

Not one in preferring on shying away from her own feelings, Vi openly expressed her attraction for the sniper. She showed Caitlyn that she would go to such great lengths just for the Sheriff herself to emerge unscathed as much as possible from trouble. The genuine feelings she presented but was blatantly rejected by Caitlyn, they never once faded and lost its sincerity.

Vi would grin at her, wink at her, even flirt with her at the very front of their co-workers, and every single time she would tell her to stop, the pinkette would only grin the biggest grin in the city and shamelessly profess her love for her own superior.

Indeed, Vi had _loved_ Caitlyn more than she did.

After a long moment of heart-piercing thoughts swimming in her head, Caitlyn got up from the floor, running a hand through her hair as she made her way to the bedroom. She, the Sheriff of Piltover, had literally just allowed the Loose Cannon slip away. She should be hurrying in gathering her equipment to track down one of the most wanted criminal in Piltover, but here she was, dressing herself for a walk.

The sniper possessed no intention in locating Jinx again. The only plan she has once she leaves her apartment is to take a walk, and maybe visit her parents at the family estate. Her mother and father have been trying to call her for the past few days, but she always picks up the phone, only to slam it back down immediately after.

Dressed in her usual purple dress, which was then covered with a cream trench coat and a violet scarf, Caitlyn was soon stepping out of the building. She didn't had her top hat on though. Every time she wore it, she only ends up recalling the times when Vi had made fun of it and claimed how _'silly'_ yet cute it was on her head. As she stepped onto the sidewalk, she adjusted the scarf around her neck before burying her hands in her coat's pockets.

Maybe a walk would be able to clear her head.

Intending to travel to her parent's home by foot, Caitlyn took in a breath before she exhaled and started her walk. As she did though, she failed to notice the figure perched at nearby rooftop of her apartment's neighboring building.

The stranger donned nothing but a pair of old denim pants and a black hoodie. It wasn't afraid of its current position on the edge. Feet steadily perched on the edge, legs bent and arms placed on its thighs, the stranger watched the walking Sheriff with an intense gaze. The wind picked up and threatened to push off the hood from the figure's head, only for one of its hands to grasp it and pull it lower to conceal its face.

By the time Caitlyn was almost out of its sights, it stood up and prepared itself to jump from one building to another, intending on tailing the British woman.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

Calum and Evangelyn Reeve were thankful and utterly relieved when their daughter showed up at their doorstep. They've been attempting to contact her ever since the Piltover Enforcer's death, but it's as if the Sheriff herself had shut down after the passing of her partner.

Caitlyn returned the hug her mother gave her, eyes emptily staring at whatever furniture it landed on. Her father and mother's words reached her and she would utter a reply, but the entire situation simply did not register to her fully.

"How have you been, sweetheart?" Her father asked her as the three of them settled at the living room. "Jayce called us a few days ago and told us about what happened at the station."

Somehow, her father's words managed to succeed in catching her attention.

"My _breakdown_ , you mean?"

Immediately, her parents exchanged a look, and that was all it took for them to know that they should avoid that particular topic. This didn't mean they didn't end up straying to a subject much worse than that.

"No, darling." Evangelyn took one of her hands and enveloped it with her own. "What your father was referring to was your partner's disappearance."

Caitlyn tensed, but she forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat quietly. She honestly did not want to speak about Vi with her parents, knowing they weren't as fond as she was with the bruiser. Unfortunately, her manners told her to be polite and to utter a neutral reply. "I… see."

"Do not fret, sweetheart." Calum instantly tried to reassure her. "Practically the whole city is looking for her body. Even the Kinsleys have offered their assistance in doing so."

"Ah, yes," Her mother supported, nodding. "That young man Villiam was more than happy to offer his family's help once he heard about what happened."

"Villiam, right…" Caitlyn sighed, vaguely recalling how the said man had asked her for dinner a couple of days ago at the station's entrance. She knew that he probably provided help because he has intentions in courting her. To make things much worse, she's quite sure that her parents are most probably considering on pairing her up with him, if not with Jayce himself. "I appreciate the help, yes, but I can assure you both now, the Kinsleys are _not_ needed."

"Nonsense, sweetie. This is just your stress talking." Her father said, an understanding smile on his face. "I'm confident that you'll change your mind after dinner later."

Her gaze was on her father in a second. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother here," Calum gestured at his wife. "Invited them to dine with us tonight."

"And fortunately, you came to visit!" Her mother, who's as oblivious as her father about how much she desired to avoid the Kinsley family, excitedly spoke. "This would be the perfect opportunity for you and Villiam to bond with one another."

"Mother, no." Caitlyn stood up, more than half of her entire being wanting to depart from her childhood home. She wanted to _groan_ at what her mother suggested. "I am not looking to be romantically involved with anyone. Not Jayce and certainly _not_ Villiam."

"Child," The older woman stood up, looking at her with a mildly pleading look. "You are already twenty-four years old, and you know that _I_ married your father when I was just twenty-two."

"That's you, mother. Not me." Caitlyn returned as calmly as she can. "And with Vi's demise still fresh in my mind, how can I even think of the idea of love?"

"She was just your co-worker, Caitlyn." Her father quietly pointed out, frowning.

"She wasn't _just_ a co-worker to me, Father. She was more than that. I… I _loved_ he…-"

"Then we'll just have a friendly dinner with the Kinsleys." Evangelyn hastily cut off, not wanting to hear her daughter complete a sentence she refused to believe is true. It would confirm the rumors going around the high society concerning Caitlyn's relationship with Vi when the pinkette was still alive. "No romance, no ulterior motives. Just a meal between family friends."

Disappointment welled within Caitlyn, knowing the reason behind her mother's interruption. She expected more from the woman, but at the same time not. With the old-fashion views and traditions her parents never parted with, that interruption was inevitable. It was more than a little upsetting that her mother and father would not support her when it came to _that_ particular aspect of her life.

When she looked towards her father, she found him pleadingly staring at her. He was wordlessly asking her not to bite the bullet her mother had just shot. If she would, it would only cause a heated argument. Internally sighing, Caitlyn subtly nodded at her father before turning her full attention back to her maternal parent.

"If you insist."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

It was rude to take your leave without bidding goodbye to the hosts. In this case, Caitlyn knew that leaving the house without telling her parents was something against the proper etiquette and manners she was taught ever since she was a child. Maybe if she wasn't so desperate to get back to her space of solitude, maybe she would have properly departed from her family home.

While her parents had Villiam and his own parents distracted with some story involving politics, Caitlyn lied to them by excusing herself and telling them that she only needed to use the bathroom. Truthfully though, she wanted to escape.

And escape she did.

Once she was out of the neighborhood and her family estate was no longer in sight, her pace of walking eventually slowed down to a reasonable speed. Throughout the whole duration of the evening meal, Caitlyn was in full autopilot. She was practically as mute as Sona earlier, only speaking whenever she was directly spoken to. There were times that her distracted self showed, but the Kinsleys were wise enough to not bring it up.

Making her way back to her apartment, she couldn't help but think about what she had just done. Oh, Vi would have been so _proud_ of her. The bruiser always did encourage her to defy the teachings of her parents and be more _'rebellious'_.

At the rooftops, the same hooded form tailed the Sheriff. Thanks to the fact that it was night and most especially the pitch black hoodie the stranger wore, the figure was able to follow Caitlyn without being spotted. It mostly moved in the shadows, so it was considered difficult to spot the stalker, even if Caitlyn spared an upward look.

The lurker, just like earlier, followed Caitlyn, watching over her until she made it back to her apartment. When Caitlyn finally disappeared from its line of vision, it began to turn away…

"Wasn't that the Sheriff?"

"Looks like she _does_ live here."

"Alone? Hell, looks like this is gonna be one easy fuck, huh?"

…only for its form to become completely still.

The hooded follower looked towards the three men idling at the entrance of the alley below, the trio eyeing the entrance Caitlyn had entered. The disgusting and lecherous gleams in those eyes of theirs, they were as revolting as they are criminals.

…..

…..

…..

The stranger disappeared from the rooftops.

The three men that darkly conversed about Caitlyn were now grinning, planning on trailing after the said woman to carry out their obscene intentions. Oh, they had _big_ _plans_ for her alright.

 _ **Kkkrrrrkkkk!**_

The men stilled, hearing the creepy scratching against the brick wall of the alley. One of them turned around and found the black hooded figure approaching them, nails being the ones responsible for the fear-inducing noise. The leader of the small group scowled and took a step towards the approaching stranger, unafraid.

"Who the hell are you?"

…..

…..

…..

…..

…..

Caitlyn had only finished putting away her coat and folding her scarf when she heard shouted curses from outside. Her gaze whipped towards one of her windows and for a moment she stared, her sense of hearing being filled with the sound of loud grunting and bellowing profanities.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Hastily, she sprinted towards one of her windows, opening them immediately before climbing out and onto the fire exit. Unfortunately, unlike the other fire exits, hers was located at the front face of the building, therefore rendering her blind from what was transpiring at the alley.

"We won't touch her!" Came a shout that was enveloped with unfiltered fear. "Please! Please! Just let us go!"

Caitlyn flinched visibly when she heard an audible thud, the sound resembling something, or _someone_ , colliding with a solid wall. For an entire minute, Caitlyn stared at the entrance of the alley, her heart deafeningly beating in her ears. She was hoping to hear a sound, _any_ sound, of life from where it was all originating, but only the eerie silence and the distant beeps and sirens reached her two ears.

When she finally did though, it was only because there was one man that feebly crawled out of the alley hoarsely calling out for help before passing out.

And that was when Caitlyn quickly went back inside her unit and dialed the police department's number, fear dwelling within her.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

While her neighbors spoke among themselves, the officers cuffed the three men that looked like they were beaten up by an entire gang of mob bosses before pushing them into a cruiser. Soon the police vehicle headed towards the police station, escorted by two more cars as they departed.

Jayce stood at the sidewalk with Caitlyn, his Mercury Hammer resting at the backseat of his parked car. He and the Sheriff with him watched until they could see the red and blue lights no more. Sighing, he shifted and faced Caitlyn, a concerned expression present on his face.

"I'm guessing you weren't the one that did all that." He weakly joked, feeling more worried rather than humorous at the moment.

Caitlyn stared at the alley where her fellow officers had retrieved the injured outlaws. They had identified the male trio as the group of rapists that had been targeting women that lived alone in their apartments. They've been attempting to track the group down a month before Vi's death, and now they've finally apprehended them. With just a brief background check, it was easily discovered that Caitlyn was the only woman that lived alone in the apartment building she's residing at.

In short, _she_ was the group's target.

Whoever it was that had assaulted the men, he or she had saved her from being sexually violated by those vulgar men. Caitlyn wanted to be thankful. Honestly, she was, but there has been something bothering her ever since she went inside her apartment and called the police department.

"Jayce?"

Jayce took his gaze away from the spot where the police had hauled off one of the passed out men, turning back to Caitlyn and wordlessly waiting for her to continue.

"What if…"

"What if what?"

"She's been gone for more than two days…" Caitlyn then looked towards the Defender of Tomorrow with a hopeful look laced with desperation. "What if… What if it was _her_?"

Jayce sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Caitlyn, you can't just say that…"

"Can you blame me?" She returned, gesturing at the entrance of the alley as she continued. "What if it _actually_ was her?"

"Caitlyn, please, stop."

"She could be _alive_ right now. We should look for her!"

"She had no pulse when she was brought to the morgue, Cait. Please, don't make this harder for you and me."

"Can you not see what I'm seeing? What this may actually mean?"

"Cait, just stop. I mean it. You're making this difficult for yoursel…-"

"But, Jayce…-"

Caitlyn almost jumped when Jayce abruptly clutched her arms and shook her once, a pleading look in his eyes as he spoke.

"Enough is enough, Caitlyn!" Jayce practically shouted at her. "I know you're mourning for Vi, but you should just accept that she's dead!"

Absolutely taken by surprise by Jayce's sudden reaction, which were filled with heart-crushing words, Caitlyn stared back at him with a gaze that broke his heart. Jayce knew his words had wounded Caitlyn in the deepest way possible, but he could not stand idly by as she deluded herself with something she desperately hoped was true.

"I know I might be the biggest asshole right now, but if it means setting you straight just like how Vi would have wanted me to do, then damn right I'm an asshole."

Tears gathered in Caitlyn's eyes and Jayce's grip on her arms gradually weakened until he retracted his own hands and turned away from the heartbreaking sight of his dear friend. Caitlyn bowed her head slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself, not at all caring that there might be people looking at them in that moment. She was not ashamed of her tears. She shed them for Vi and for the harsh reality Jayce was desperately making her catch sight of.

"Could you not let me lie to myself?" Her words, they contradicted with what she had told Jinx, who also had the strong desire to believe that Vi had not crossed the living world and entered the afterlife. In truth, she and Jinx shared the same yearning. "Could you not allow me to see my own reality…?"

"I prefer having you see the painful truth rather than a _fantasy_ you call your reality." Jayce told her, forcing himself to hurt one of the few people he considers as a friend. "I don't like hurting you, Cait. I'm not trying to."

And what was painful about it? Oh, it's because Caitlyn knew what his true intentions are. Jayce only wanted to help her, but she was being absolutely stubborn and wanted nothing more but to deny his truthful words.

"I know you're mourning for her. I am, too."

Caitlyn looked back up to Jayce, her tear-stained face sending a strong pang within the man's chest.

"I love her…"

Jayce quietly exhaled. One by one, tears began to run down his own face. He stepped towards the crying woman in front of him and wrapped his arms around her, letting her dry her tears with the cloth that covered his broad shoulders. He might not have seen Vi the way Caitlyn does, but her greatly considered her as a friend of his. While Caitlyn mourned for the woman she craved so desperately to call her lover, Jayce mourned for the one of a kind friend he lost that night.

"And she loved you." Jayce whispered, rubbing Caitlyn's back comfortingly. "Believe me, she did."

"I want her back…" She whimpered against his shoulder, tears still falling.

"We all do."

"Why…? Why did I have to lose her for me to realize it…?"

A forlorn look in his eyes, a depressed expression on his face, Jayce silently shed his own tears as he spoke the truth once more.

"Because it was the only way for you to realize how much she truly meant to you."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Okay, since the only thing missing with "You Don't Own Me" is the Epilogue, I thought it'd be fine for me to upload this. ^u^_

 _Just a reminder to you readers, this story may or may not reach above ten or fifteen chapters. If it does, then yay! If it doesn't… still yay? xD I'm not going to rush it, if that's what you readers are thinking! O.O_

 _It's just that I'm not sure how many chapters it will take for me to write down what I plan for this story, so yeah, that's that. :3_

 _Anyway, if any of you have any suggestions or thoughts you may want to share, don't hesitate to leave a review or send me a message! ^_^_


	4. Chapter 4

**ACT 4**

It was difficult. Keeping herself distracted to the very best of her abilities, Caitlyn's head still refused to change its center. She knew she wasn't _obsessed_ with the described core of her thinking, but what her brain was doing to her was murdering her from the inside.

Not thinking of the person you love, even for half an hour, was impossible for the renowned sniper. Every time she closed her eyes and let the darkness swallow her, all she could see was nothing but electric blue eyes that twinkled in the embrace of oblivion.

Situated in the marble tub in her bathroom, Caitlyn wrapped her arms around her naked self underneath the water. Her midnight locks had a few inches dipped into the clear aqua that engulfed nearly her entire form, some draped over her shoulders, which remained untouched by the water itself.

The prominent gleam of sorrow in the orbs of turquoise could never be missed. Even if she were to bind herself in silence, her eyes would easily speak without words about what she truly felt. Her current state was immensely depressing and Caitlyn herself felt like she had fallen down to the lowest level she could ever reach.

It was a lamentable sight she was. A claim Jayce can surely vouch for.

Caitlyn knew she needed to move forward. Vi would absolutely rise from the afterlife just to shout at her if she were to throw her life away because the late Enforcer had met her end. The thought sounded so appealing for the forlorn Sheriff.

The thought of Vi possibly being alive plagued her mind like a form of virus that made her entire being deteriorate. Mind too focused in conjuring unbelievable theories and heart too fragmented beyond repair, maybe that particular concept was an actual disease that was murdering her.

The water quivered visibly as her hands surfaced and brought a small amount of liquid to quietly splash against her face. As crystal droplets leisurely trailed down her skin, her hands were tangled into her damp hair. They turned into fists, gripping those moist strands firmly.

"Why can't I move on from you?" Caitlyn whispered, looking at the rippling reflection of her face.

The answer was obvious, and she knew it. Like she had always been thinking, if only she had realized it sooner. That specific thought, it strangled her aching heart with painful thorns that reminded her how many times she had refused Vi's advances. Some of them may have been leaning dangerously close, if not completely, to an inappropriate level, but at least Vi was honest.

The ex-criminal was so honest that she even admitted to Caitlyn that she never really possessed any heartfelt feelings for her in the first place. They were in Caitlyn's office that time. The pinkette had brought in some paperwork for her and somehow, their conversation led to that direction.

Vi had confessed to her once that she only had intentions in bedding her from the beginning, and if the Sheriff wanted, maybe build a friendship with her that has sexual benefits. Caitlyn had never attempted physically striking anyone, but when she heard such perverted desires coming from her partner, she momentarily contemplated if she were to make an exception. Vi easily made up for it though when she suddenly blushed and became sincerely sheepish, flashing that embarrassed but charming smile at Caitlyn.

 ** _"I didn't really think I'd say those three stupid words, especially to you. Even if I only say it in my mind."_**

An abashed laugh left Vi once she said that to the woman she referred to as her superior.

 ** _"Vi,"_** She had said in a clipped manner, a stern expression on her face. **_"I have no time for foolish games."_**

Vi had chuckled in return, one hand hiding in her pants' pocket and the other scratching the back of her head. **_"Me, too, Cupcake. Me too."_**

By the time Vi silently gauged her reaction after the last thing she said, Caitlyn had shaken her head and had turned away, focus on the paperwork that was given and nowhere close to the Enforcer. Recalling that precise memory, Caitlyn could only fill up with even more regret than the overflowing amount that was already weighing her down tons of heavy bricks.

A second chance is something Caitlyn didn't deserve. At least, that's what she thinks. Yes, Vi did admit that she was nothing but a conquest, but when the time came that the initial situation changed, Caitlyn didn't take it seriously. Somehow, the entire concept was similar to _'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'_. Both of them made mistakes, but Caitlyn blamed herself for not seeing through it sooner than she finally had.

Doing what she's practicing, it brought no good upon her. She deprived and neglected herself to the point that she's practically turned her whole world upside down for one dead person. She knows it. Jayce knows it. Hell, maybe even the entire City of Progress knows it.

Caitlyn felt like a candle that was melting away. The flame of her self-destruction was reducing her into nothing but a shell of who she once was. The shadows of the fire that burned her can be seen under her eyes, the color she once bore had faded and the health she meticulously maintained had gone completely down the drain.

It took a long while, but Caitlyn eventually vacated the bathroom. Once she was dressed in her usual attire, she collected her rifle and left her apartment. She had no intentions in going to the department to work, knowing it might only spark an argument between her and Jayce. As much as she wanted to find where Vi's body is, she would have to trust her friend and let herself recover from her pitiful state.

All the way to the special train station leading to the Institute of War, Caitlyn chose to walk again. She would have saved some time if she had decided on taking her Hextech cruiser and leave it at the private parking at the station once she arrives, but she thought that she could use this opportunity as a form of exercise. With everything she's been doing to herself, at least a small dose of physical exercise is somewhat needed.

Caitlyn intends on asking the High Council of the Institute if she could be permitted to go on a hiatus from League matches. The championship is still months away, so regardless of matches still being held daily, the champions aren't required to attend any battles, unless requested otherwise by the summoners under urgent reasons.

It's clear that she's in no shape in participating on violent matches at the Rift anyway. If she were to do so, she might just pose as a liability to her team if they were to lose. Caitlyn honestly doesn't have any time in dealing with another load of stress and problems.

When she arrived at the train station, she met a few Piltover citizens that bid her good luck on her upcoming matches. Of course they thought she was going to participate to another League match. Caitlyn could only imagine what they would think and how they would react if they had discovered she was planning on taking a timeout from all the sanctioned battles. She couldn't force herself to smile. Even the slightest curve that tried shaping her lips was denied. Her heart would not let her. To avoid appearing rude to the civilians, she decided to just nod her head in return. Foolish she truly felt.

Caitlyn boarded the railcar immediately. She seated herself beside a window, leaving vacant space fit for two people at her left and three across her. The railcar only had two units connected to the locomotive, since it was built solely for the reason of transporting League champions from Piltover to the Institute and vice versa.

The Sheriff hoped that she would not encounter any fellow champions from her homeland. Unfortunately, she heard footsteps come from one of the entrances. It only meant one thing: She'll be having company on her way to the Institute.

"Caitlyn!" Came a surprised greeting from her left.

"Sheriff." Two voices, one sounding more robotic, greeted in a much calmer and formal manner.

Seeing that there was no other way to avoid social interaction, Caitlyn took in a breath and willed herself to face her newly arrived travel companions. The scent of metal and cologne reached her nostrils, giving her clues about who she'll be speaking with.

The Prodigal Explorer sat at her left, while the Lady of Clockwork and the Revered Inventor situated themselves in front of her, the Yordle genius being casually assisted by the Hextech woman in doing so. The brass sphere Orianna used as her weapon and saw as a personal companion hovered at the entrance of the cabin they're in, which may be the one that brought most of the metallic scent that Caitlyn had caught earlier. Once Orianna seated herself right beside Heimerdinger, the conversation between the four of them began.

"Sheriff," Heimerdinger started as he folded his hands over one another on his lap. "I see you are doing much well than the last time we've crossed paths."

Ezreal looked at Heimerdinger as if he had gone blind. Caitlyn, who hummed flatly and nodded slightly, was far from being considered _'well'_ in his book. He didn't want to be the one to steer their conversation to a rocky path though, so the blond chose to play safe by asking a question concerning the League.

"So, uhh, you plan on attending a match or something?"

"No, I don't." Short and straight to the point.

"Oh," Ezreal scratched the back of his head, trying to think up a follow up question or something before the conversation becomes awkward. "Well, Ori and Donger here will be joining a few once we get there."

"Indeed." Heimderdinger agreed with a nod. Internally though, the Yordle was hoping that their third companion won't be uttering anything about his and her initial reason why they'll be heading to the Institute.

"Sheriff," The sweet yet mechanical voice filled the quiet cabin.

Heimerdinger sighed. There was no use in stopping his seatmate. Even if he did, Caitlyn would surely pry them for the truth, and with Ezreal clueless about the request the High Councilor had sent him and Orianna, he would have no assistance in concealing their original intention for the trip itself.

Caitlyn responded to Orianna's call with a simple blank look, wordlessly awaiting for her continuation of words.

"Regardless of your current physical and emotional status and the High Council requesting for us to fulfill a particular task, the latter is surely preferable to be accomplished by you."

While Heimerdinger decided to keep himself quiet for the time being, Ezreal looked perplexed with the uttered words. Beside the young man, Caitlyn gazed at the Clockwork woman with narrowed eyes glinting with confusion. She shifted ever so slightly on her place as she directed her focus to the speaker, knowing the words that would follow would be significant.

"What do you mean to say, Orianna?"

"The High Council," Orianna replied, seemingly unfazed with how she was about to greatly affect the sniper. "They have requested for the Revered Inventor and I to retrieve the belongings the Piltover Enforcer from her champion chambers."

"…What?" It was nearly a whisper. Caitlyn's gaze softened and left its narrowed state. She wasn't angry, but neither was she happy.

"Ahem, yes, that is correct." Heimerdinger interjected as casually as he can. If he allowed Orianna to go further than she already has, she might end up saying something that might trigger the Sheriff's unstable emotions. "High Councilor Kolminye has asked us through a letter if we can clear out our late Deputy's champion unit at the Institute."

"They want you both to _'clear out'_?"

"Our intention is to retrieve Officer Vi's possessions and deliver it to you once we return to Piltover, but so it seems…" Heimerdinger momentarily looked towards Orianna as he continued, "…the Lady of Clockwork has a valid point."

Ezreal may have said he has no intentions in turning the conversation into something tense and awkward, but it looks like he doesn't have to exert much of an effort in doing so, since Orianna had done it for all of them. Despite of the turnout, he caught on with Heimerdinger's new yet unsaid intention.

"I guess Ori's right." Ezreal agreed with a small smile directed to the sniper. It was a bit weird for him in seeing Caitlyn donning her usual outfit except the top hat Vi teased her so much about. "You're her partner, after all. I'm sure Vi would really appreciate it if you were the one who takes care of the things she left."

Caitlyn didn't know how to react. Her friends had just given her the chance to be the one to handle a matter that's solely about the dead woman she loves. Gathering all of the things Vi had abandoned in the Institute would surely cause her emotional pain, especially if she were to see something that would make her recall a fond memory of the pinkette, but even with this negative effect to her, she knew it would be a bittersweet feeling worth going through.

"I… need to be alone." Caitlyn stood up from her seat and walked out of the space they're in. Orianna's spherical companion hovered out of the way once she reached the entrance of the small area.

"I shall send word to the High Councilor the moment we arrive." Came Heimerdinger's voice.

With a quick and simple nod and not a single glance over her shoulder, Caitlyn left the cabin and made her way to another one, where she occupied a seat beside a window once again after she slid the door close of the said cabin with a quiet thud. This time, her fellow Piltovians didn't join her. She was rather thankful that the three champions respected what she wanted, which is solitude, and she silently hoped that they would not hold her actions against her.

Seeing that she was out of earshot, Ezreal sighed and turned his attention to the pair in front of him. A despondent expression occupied his facial features, which highly contradicted with his usual carefree and grinning self.

"I'm worried for her." Ezreal murmured. "Never really expected Cait to be _this_ affected with Vi's death."

"We are all affected." Surprisingly, it was Orianna who said that.

"Are you _really_ affect, Ori?"

"What are you implying?"

"Indeed we are all affected." Heimerdinger intervened before Orianna and Ezreal's talk evolves into an argument of some sort, especially with what the latter was entailing. "We had treated Vi as our friend and we have our own ways in mourning for her."

Ezreal huffed and laid himself back, looking away. "I'm just worried. I've never seen Cait act like this before."

"Her reactions are considered normal." Orianna claimed, which somehow annoyed the blond.

"What do you mean _'normal'_?" He then pushed himself forward and gestured a hand at the direction Caitlyn went off to. "I heard from Jayce about everything that happened with her. Ori, she's killing herself!"

"Only because she yearns to be with a person that is not within her reach."

Once again, the explorer slumped back to his seat, remembering how Vi had always told him about another failed attempt in courting Caitlyn. "She used to be."

Orianna tilted her head. "Used to be?"

"Used to be within her reach." He clarified almost in a mutter. "She just didn't want Vi when she was there."

"Did her heart not desire the Enforcer initially?"

"The heart wants what it wants, my dear." Heimerdinger spoke all of a sudden. "And sadly, we would never really know if what we want is what we need."

"Pardon?"

"What he means to say," Ezreal decided to simplify Heimerdinger's point to Orianna. "is that Caitlyn never _wanted_ Vi. She _needed_ her. She just didn't know it."

"And sometimes, my dear," Heimerdinger lightly shook his head as he looked down to his hands. "It is too late for regrets."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

There was no opportunity given to her. The moment they reached the Institute and Caitlyn had crossed paths with High Councilor Kolminye herself, the raven-haired woman had _ordered_ her to not participate in any type of matches after offering her condolences for the Sheriff's loss. Vessaria was appalled with Caitlyn's state and she knew it was her responsibility to care for the champions of the League, especially when it came to their welfare.

As if she was a mind-reader, Vessaria also told Caitlyn that she permits her in collecting Vi's belongings from the soon to be vacant chamber unit even before Caitlyn herself could voice out her thoughts about the matter. She didn't know if Heimerdinger and the others had gotten to the superior woman first, but she honestly had no intention in questioning it. At least all was going in her favor for once for the past few days.

With the unit's key in her possession, Caitlyn soon found herself walking inside the place Vi once owned, the door clicking close behind her as she walked deeper into the fairly spacious room. There wasn't much inside the unit, but Caitlyn assumed most of Vi's things would be in the sleeping area. She proceeded to the small sleeping chambers, crossing the tiny living slash dining room of the unit itself.

The bed was unsurprisingly unmade, but the thin dust that had settled over it showed how long it has passed ever since it had been used for slumber by its original owner. The thought of it sends a pang in Caitlyn's heart. She shook her head to rid herself of the heart-aching thoughts and chose to focus on the task she was planning to perform.

Vi owned only stored at least two bags worth of clothes in her champion chambers, so within an hour or two, Caitlyn finished packing all of them in the duffel bags she acquired from the closet. After taking the bags and placing them on the two-seater sofa in the living room, she returned to the bedroom to pack the remaining clutter and trinkets inside the bedroom.

Throughout the process of storing all the ornaments inside another bag, Caitlyn had pulled out a black plastic bag from underneath the bed. She tore it open once she hauled it out into the light, a mildly thin box clumsily concealed with a violet wrapper and a gold ribbon greeting her eyes immediately after.

It was a gift.

Caitlyn hesitated in unwrapping it, while her heart had begun to increase its beating in a rapid pace. She could only take a guess, which she was sure would be spot-on, upon who this gift was intended to be given. Caitlyn raised her head and looked around the room to distract and calm herself a bit. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment before she inspected whatever it was inside. Once her heart had somewhat reduced its beating speed, she refocused her attention back to the gift and briefly examined it.

No letter, no card, nothing. There was only that gold ribbon outside the violet box.

Burning no more time, Caitlyn untied the ribbon and started tearing the wrapper away. For a few seconds, the room was filled with the sound of paper being ripped and discarded aside. The moment the wrapper was off, Caitlyn lifted the lid of the rectangular-shaped box.

Slowly, the lid was placed to the side before one of her hands stroked the item inside.

It was a purple leather jacket.

Atop the clothing was a piece of folded paper.

A letter.

Caitlyn's hands trembled as they hesitantly took it in her grasp and unfolded it for her tear-shining eyes to read its scribbled contents.

 _Heyah, Cupcake! You probably don't remember it, but today's the same date that you fished me out of the streets a few years ago. Yep, I remember it! Shocker, huh? Anywho, got this lucky find from the same place I bought my jacket. You know, the same jacket you tell me that I wear everyday? Ring any bells, Sheriff? :P I bought this for you since you literally popped inside my head when I saw it. Not that you being in my head is something new, if you know what I mean. ;) Hope it keeps you warm until I can wrap these strong arms of mine around you and keep you warm myself. ;) (Don't fire me after you read this)_

\- _Vi (Your Extremely Strong and Attractive Partner)_

A breathless laugh left Caitlyn as she finished reading the last line of the letter, her eyes lingering on the messy signature of her fallen Deputy. When she read it in her thoughts, she can hear Vi's voice saying those words to her. She was sure Vi would be donning her signature lopsided grin or maybe a sheepish one if she were there to say those words herself.

Her tears had begun falling in the midst of her reading, she didn't know which part it started, but she chose to not care and just settle on wiping it away with her fingers. She folded the letter again and placed it back on top of the jacket, placing the cardboard lid back on top before getting up from the floor. Once the gift, which Vi had intended on giving her a few months from now, was placed right beside the two bags from earlier, Caitlyn finished clearing out Vi's belongings for the rest of the hour.

Just like how she had envisioned it. The entire time she packed and cleaned out Vi's champion chambers, it surely was bittersweet for her. Eventually, she was back in the railcar. An Institute guard had escorted her back to the station, carrying two of bags for her, while she carried the one that contained Vi's little trinkets.

While watching the sights that passed her through the window, Caitlyn can't help but feel a bit thankful that she hadn't encountered anyone else during her trip back to the train station. Through her peripherals while she was walking earlier, she had noticed the Starchild and the Maven of Strings offering her sympathy and their condolences through their gazes. Other than that, she didn't meet, or at least notice, any other fellow champions.

Sitting in the train, Caitlyn softly sighed and gave her leather-clad arms a few rubs with her hands. Yes, she was wearing the jacket Vi planned on gifting to her. It wasn't Vi's arms that was keeping her warm in that moment, but she supposed that it would be enough to satisfy her need for now.

For the first time ever since Vi's death, a sincere smile finally reached Caitlyn's lips.

"Thank you, Vi."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

It was severely challenging to keep away from the Sheriff. The tempting passion that burned from within, it was overwhelming. Watching Caitlyn return to her apartment and wearing that new leather jacket, it was an irresistible sight for the watcher.

The grey-hooded figure spectated from a fair distance with adoration in its eyes. It could not bear the yearning of its heart. To feel the beautiful Sheriff's body tremble underneath its own, oh, it was tempting indeed. Feeling that undoubtedly soft skin of the sniper, the uneven breaths and lustful moans that would leave her lips once the yet to be named person was making love to her…

Yes, it was a sight to behold.

"I'll be back for you, Cait. Soon. I promise."

With a smirk plastered on its face, the figure blended into the shadows of a nearby alley and returned to wherever it resided, already assembling its future plans for the woman it so desperately had fallen head over heels for.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Hey there, my readers! Sorry being gone for quite a while and not being able to reply to some messages of yours. I've been so absorbed with a mobile game lately that I ended up neglecting my stories. Sorry 'bout that. :3_

 _I've been feeling awfully excited lately, especially with how this story is nearing one of its biggest reveals! I really hope you readers like how this'll turn out! OuO_

 _As for the readers who might be here to check this author's note for any **Frozen Lotus news** , well, I've done already a handful of research about the usual speech patterns pirates use and how wealthy people used to speak in the Victorian Era. In short, I'm already analyzing on how Katarina and Ashe will be speaking and acting in the story **"Bad Things"**. ^u^_

 _As for the readers who want to know any **Eclipse news** , then I'm going to be completely honest with you Leona x Diana shippers… The first chapter of **"The Cure"** isn't done yet. xD (Don't kill me T_T) I'll try to finish it once I get the drive to type that pairing up. Nonetheless, it'll probably be released soon, but no promises as always. :P_

 _Anyway! I'm sure you readers have some thoughts about this chapter, so if you want to share them, please don't be shy in letting me know! ^u^_


	5. Chapter 5

**ACT 5**

The woman that walked into the station, she wasn't the same person the officers had come to know for the past couple of years working with her. There was something different about her. A detail that stood out like some sort of beacon that notified them that she has changed.

Gone was the purple dress and matching top hat. The Sheriff of Piltover was wearing her uniform again. Seeing her wear the blue and black attire wasn't new, but the officers in the station found it rather foreign.

Why?

Caitlyn only wore that outfit whenever she and Vi were handling cases that demanded their utmost attention and skill in capturing either a lone criminal or a group of outlaws that has done something horrid. Whenever the lawbreakers catch sight of the Sheriff wearing that outfit, they knew the brutal Enforcer would be nearby. It instilled fear deep in their veins. Looking at her now, the officers didn't know if she was wearing it in tribute to her dead Deputy, or if she meant _business_ now that she has returned from her temporary leave.

"Sheriff." One of the high-ranking men greeted her with a salute.

"Officer." Caitlyn responded back with the same amount of formality. "Any progress on the search of the Deputy's body?"

She and the man started towards her office as they continued their conversation, salutes and greetings being given by the other officers they passed. Caitlyn acknowledged them all with a forward tilt of her head, most of her attention still focused and waiting for an answer to her question.

"We've searched our late Deputy's apartment, but we found nothing that could be considered relevant." The man answered in a somewhat cautious manner, worried that his reply would enrage his superior. "The place looked like it was untouched for weeks."

"Is Jayce still the main handler of this case?"

"Well, yes, Sheriff. You trusted him with that position, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Caitlyn dismissed the officer before she opened the door of her office and walked in, not bothering on knocking despite the fact that she could hear the quiet pacing of footsteps from inside. _'But now it's time I take over again.'_

Inside her office, she found Jayce pacing around with one police report held with each hand, forehead creased with stress as he analyzed every bit of information written on the sheets of paper. All of them concerns Vi's case, which was one of the top priorities of the department right now.

"Jayce."

The said man, who was too distracted with the paperwork, snapped his gaze to the doorway, eyes widening in surprise. "Caitlyn!"

"Paperwork is obviously not your forte." She said as she held out a hand, waiting for the hammer-wielding champion to give her the documents.

Jayce had a slightly sheepish expression replace his surprised one as he handed the reports in his grasp. "Sorry."

With a simple dismissive wave, Caitlyn walked around him and went behind the new desk, situating herself on the leather seat. All she needed was a few glances to notice that her office, the same one she had terrorized a couple of days ago, was back to its pristine state. Her certificates weren't hung on the walls though. She assumed that they either decided to renew them or store them somewhere in her desk drawers. Regardless, the entire room has been rebuilt and restored to its tip-top shape.

"Are you feeling alright now, Cait?" Jayce asked, a concerned look in his eyes.

"Just about." She answered. The way she spoke, the way she moved, the way she carried herself, it's as if she was back to her old self. By old self, it referred to the Caitlyn that had yet to meet the pink-haired bruiser, and _that_ is why Jayce felt odd and even more worried for his friend.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll be well in a couple of days or so." Caitlyn stated as she looked over the documents on her desk one by one, holding her conversation with Jayce professionally and as if nothing emotionally scarring had happened for the past days and months. "Wounds will heal."

"But scars don't."

Caitlyn's movements stilled.

"Claiming that a bleeding wound is close doesn't actually close it." Jayce added, sighing. "What happened?"

It was Caitlyn's turn to sigh. The papers were put down and eye contact was made. Once he met the sniper's gaze, Jayce knew that he had uncovered something and was about to find out what it is.

"I received a gift."

"A gift? From who?"

"Who else?"

Jayce held back the sigh that nearly left his lips. He ran a hand through his hair, not really knowing if he should voice out his thoughts or not. Was Caitlyn being delusional again? He was about to believe her about being well and healthy enough to return to her job, but _this_ was causing second thoughts to sprout in his head.

"Cait…"

"I'm quite serious." Caitlyn then lowered her gaze, the crestfallen gleam in her eyes not at all missed. "I was the one who collected her possessions from the Institute."

Jayce slightly straightened. "How did you get a gift, then?"

"I found it."

"You found her gift for you?"

Caitlyn nodded. "She intended to give it to me in the near future. I assume she hid it in her champion quarters to prevent me from catching even a glimpse of it."

Her words somehow calmed Jayce down. She got the gift from somewhere reasonable. Maybe those second thoughts weren't needed after all. "What was the gift?"

"A jacket. A purple one, to be precise."

Jayce cracked a little smile. "She knows you well."

For a moment, Caitlyn just stared at the papers in front of her, gaze saddening and lips turning down into a deep frown. Of course her friend noticed it. The smile on Jayce's face, small it may be, vanquished. Worry took place once again from within as he patiently waited until the Sheriff continued their supposed light-hearted talk.

The silence in the office was rather deafening. The only thing the two parties could hear was the low and quiet hum of the air conditioner. Other than that, there was no more sound that reached their ears. Even the muffled noises outside the room didn't register in their hearing.

"I smiled."

Jayce raised his head a bit, his surprise towards Caitlyn's words visible in his eyes. Her words truly shocked him. "You… did?"

"When I saw it, yes." A melancholic smile appeared on the Sheriff's lips, but it vanished as soon as it had showed. "In my perspective, even though Vi is… gone, I've realized that she wouldn't want me to destroy myself out of depression. She worked so hard. So determinedly… just to keep me alive."

"So you finally realized it." Jayce was completely relieved with what he was hearing. It's clear that Caitlyn wasn't lying through her teeth. He can still see how she's suffering, but she was learning to cope with it in a much reasonable and practical manner.

"I… I can never forgive myself if I allowed her sacrifices to come down in vain." Caitlyn then lifted her gaze and reconnected their gaze. "I'll protect Piltover. I'll protect myself. I'll protect everything that Vi protected. It is my turn to watch over everyone."

"You won't be alone, Cait." Jayce then gestured at his sides. "I'm here. The officers are here. Ezreal, Orianna, Heimer, everyone. Even the people of Piltover. We'll all be there for you."

"Thank you, Jayce."

"You know what's the best out of all that?"

"What?"

"Vi will be there too."

For the second time since her mentioned partner's death, Caitlyn gave a true and genuine smile. It was one that held no misery. She finally accepted it. She may not see the woman she dearly loves, but she knows that she'll always be right by her side.

Crime never sleeps, and so does Piltover's Finest.

"I know."

…..

…..

…..

…..

…..

Sun shining above the bright light-littered city, practically everyone can see everyone. It's as if every corner of the City of Progress was illuminated and not an inch was left to be engulfed with darkness. There may be shadows along the alleys, but the natural light up above was enough to provide a clear sight of its usual dark pathways.

The outdoor unit of the air conditioner of the Sheriff's office occasionally leaked a few drops in the bucket placed underneath it by one of the cleaning employees of the station. Based from its nearly full state, it wouldn't take long until someone from the janitors come out to get rid of the liquid.

Beside the bucket, a hooded figure can be found, seated on the cement ground. The stranger was leaning back against the brick wall, head bowed and arms propped on its knees. The window of the Sheriff's office may be close, but the unknown individual heard the conversation from within as if the panel was completely open.

If someone were to look ever so closely, they could probably see the forlorn smile that shaped the stranger's lips.

"Boom." The stranger murmured, making a finger-gun motion. "The Sheriff is back in town."

Pushing itself up to its feet, the lurker began to make its way down the alley heading to the parking lot of the station. There was a narrow path there the stranger came to know ever since it had put on its black hoodie. It's a route that would conceal the person from any curious eyes.

Reaching the end of the alley, the person halted its steps and looked around the corner. It watched as a man, the one named Villiam, exited his car with a box of cupcakes, a stupid grin on his face as he hurried in heading inside the police station.

The spectator could only grunt in displeasure. The people that courted Caitlyn always deserved an eye roll and a shake of a head. None of them are capable of protecting her like how her late partner had done. Only a muttered curse left the stranger's lips before it continued on its way to the place everyone in Piltover knew.

Incognium Runeterra.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

Maybe Caitlyn wasn't as ready as she was. Regardless of such thought, the Sheriff handled and closed two cases in one day. It was surprisingly productive for her, especially since she's just beginning on recovering from what she's been thoroughly affected with for the past couple of days.

Earlier, the man her mother oh so favors for her had visited. He had given her a box of three cupcakes as a _'welcome back to the station'_ gift. She was honestly surprised that Villiam was so quick in hearing about the news. Well, the Kinsley man's gift wasn't the only item she got as a treat ever since she returned.

Her co-workers may have noticed the difference in her demeanor, she became stricter and more uptight, but they still exerted some effort in bringing her little trinkets that showed her how glad they are that she was recuperating from her depression. They truly were happy for her, which further proved Jayce's point. Her fellow officers are there for her, ready to support if she ever needed them.

Back at her office and handling Vi's missing case again, Caitlyn had her full attention directed on the reports she read one by one. Every document she laid her eyes on was practically memorized by the sniper herself. Each detail held a relevance for her, and she would not risk in missing a single clue that may lead her in finding her dead beloved's body.

Hours later, it was ten o'clock and Caitlyn had literally just arrive in her apartment. She was tired. Drained, even. Overworking herself wasn't really a first, but this surely was the first abuse she put her body through ever since she left her downcast state.

Plopping down the couch with a quiet sigh, the documents of her Deputy's missing case was laid on the coffee table with a tired throw. Her eyes then wandered to the paper bag she loosely held with her left hand. It was filled with the gifts she received from her colleagues.

 ** _Grumble!_**

A hand wandered over her exposed stomach. Of course she's hungry. If she remembers correctly, then she had only consumed a sandwich Jayce had given to her during lunchtime. Sighing once again, Caitlyn pushed her back off her seat and slipped her hand inside the bag. A few seconds worth of searching, the Sheriff retrieved a box of cupcakes.

It was the same cupcakes Vi used to buy her once the pinkette took notice of how much she ordered these treats from one particular shop. Unfortunately, these cupcakes weren't bought by the same person she wished would be there with her.

Opening the box, she took out one of the cupcakes and peeled off the wrapper from one side before taking a fairly-sized bite from the tasty dessert. It was probably unhealthy for her to not ingest anything healthy for today, but she couldn't bring herself to care much about her health now. The grumbling stomach of hers was already craving for any type of nourishments, so the cupcakes ended up being deemed worthy as her evening meal.

She chewed for a couple of moments before swallowing.

…..

…..

…..

Immediately, her stomach reacted and the cupcake was dropped back inside the box, which was pushed to the side by the Sheriff. Caitlyn held onto the armrest at her right, nails digging into the padded handle and teeth clenching at the nauseating feeling that suddenly took over her.

Caitlyn felt like she was going to vomit everything in her stomach, and that includes the sandwich she had eaten earlier. She shook her head a bit, trying to banish the headache. As seconds of time ticked away, Caitlyn tried her best to get a hold of her queasy self.

She was blinking quicker than usual and her breathing became heavy. Her eyes were becoming watery at the awful feeling that was eating her from within. The moment she tried to push herself off the sofa in an attempt to stand up and procure a glass of water from the kitchen for her sickened self, Caitlyn ended up collapsing on her carpet, narrowly missing the coffee table. Form curling and fists clawing at the carpet, Caitlyn coughed weakly as her vision began to falter. She was losing her consciousness. Fast.

"V-Vi…" She breathed out before her eyes gave up and drifted close. The drug that was in the sweet treat she had taken a bite out of had instantly taken effect, which is the sole reason of her now unconscious state.

...

...

...

...

...

The window's lock blinked green before the glass panel was slid to the side, a hooded person slipping inside the apartment unit with mild difficulty. The stranger stuffed the gadget it used to unlock the window from the outside inside the backpack it carried before zipping the pack close and approaching the drugged sniper. Once beside the markswoman, the stranger smiled and stroked some of Caitlyn's hair away from her face.

"Beautiful as ever." The person then leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I promised you I'd be back for you, didn't I?"

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

Floating.

Drifting.

Swimming.

Caitlyn honestly didn't know which one was she doing in the sea of black she seems to be stranded in. The fact that she doesn't have a single clue about what had happened after she passed out was making her livid. She should have seen it coming though.

The criminals have finally struck her. At least one of them, she guessed. What she couldn't believe though was that the one who took her down was one of the people she and Vi had saved in the past. After everything her family and her had done for the Kinsley family, this is how their son repaid them?

…..!

Caitlyn hissed in the darkness out of the prick she felt on her arm. One moment she was merely afloat in an ocean of obsidian, the next, she was reeled back to her conscious state of mind. Her eyes darted open and her lips parted to release a gasp. The first thing she caught sight of was the most disgusting sight she could ever lay her eyes on.

Villiam Kinsley was delightfully grinning at her from his position beside the queen-size bed Caitlyn's currently tied to. He pulled away from her, and along with him came the syringe that had injected a new type of drug in the captured woman's system.

"Villiam." Caitlyn snarled lowly, tugging at her restraints. Both of her wrists were tied to one of the bed posts with some rope, which seems to be unfortunately in a secured knot. No matter how much Caitlyn attempted in pulling, it wouldn't come undone.

"Good morning, Cait." Villiam casually greeted back, placing the syringe on the desk at one side of the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"What do you think you are doing?" Caitlyn gritted out, glaring daggers at the man that looked not at all afraid of what he had just done.

Villiam shrugged. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You have just drugged and took captive the Sheriff of Piltover!" She growled angrily. "Do you not know the consequences of such acts?"

"There's such a thing as Stockholm Syndrome."

Caitlyn scoffed. "And you think _I_ would develop such ludicrous feelings for you?"

"Now, now, Cait," He tutted at the officer. "No need to refer to our love as if it's not mutual."

"It _isn't_."

"Oh yes, it is."

She held back the second scoff that nearly left her. "As if I would love someone like you!"

"But you do, Cait." Villiam said with a wide smile. "I still remember the time when you saved me from those ruffians. Oh, how heroic you were, my love."

"I merely escorted you out of the building." Caitlyn grunted out. "It was Vi that did most of the saving."

Right. Vi." The Kinsley sighed and shook his head. "You know, Cait, we need to lay out some ground rules. If we're going to make this relationship work…-"

"There is no relationship that exists between us!"

"…-you need to stop mentioning that uncultured swine you used to call your Deputy."

Vi? An uncultured swine? If Caitlyn hated Villiam in the first place, she now despised the man's very existence, especially after he had the audacity to refer to Vi in such a disrespectful manner.

When Caitlyn pulled on her wrists again, she found her movements more laggard and feebler than it was a moment ago. How she wanted to throw the man leering at her behind the bars criminals always ends up knowing well.

Villiam took notice of Caitlyn's weakening efforts of resistance and the development made him grin. "I see the drug is working."

"You…" Caitlyn like her body was becoming as heavy as steel itself. "What did you do...?"

As the Kinsley man approached her, hands unbuttoning his button-up top, he explained, "I know you would try to deny our first time together, so I made it easier for both of us. All you need to do is lay there and enjoy the pleasurable sensations I'll be giving you."

Caitlyn's eyes widened.

 _'N-No… He's… He's planning on…'_

"Villiam, don't." She faintly grunted, failing in appearing intimidating and authoritative. "If you do this…-!"

"Caitlyn…" Villiam smiled down at her, his top clothing open completely and revealing his torso to her. "Just moan for me while I make love to your body."

Heartbeat quickening and fear burning her alive, Caitlyn felt her tears well up in her eyes. She turned her head away, weaker than she wanted to, and flimsily thrashed against her restraints, desperate to free herself from her constrictions.

"No! No!" Caitlyn began shouting when Villiam joined her on the bed and climbed on top of her. "Don't you dare!"

"Quiet, my love. Wouldn't want someone to hear us, right?"

"Get your disgusting self away from me!"

"Now, Caitlyn, don't be like that." He said as he straddle her, hands gliding over her hips.

Caitlyn felt like her heart was about to burst out of fear and anxiety. She could feel his revolting hands slowly making its way upward and it nearly sent a bile to rise up her throat. He had no intention in stopping, and knowing such thing was bringing Caitlyn to the very edge of her sanity in that moment.

"Don't touch me!"

Doing the opposite, Villiam abruptly leaned down and let his hands roam around her sides, while his vile lips began kissing around her neck. She could feel his gross tongue glazing over her neck's skin, which was the last straw for her.

"Vi!" She cried out for her beloved's name in desperation, putting all her strength in thrashing her entire body to resist the actions of the perverted man on top of her. "Vi! Please!"

"I don't want to hear her name!" Came Villiam's angry growl.

Caitlyn yelped once she felt the rapist's teeth tear through her skin, drawing a tiny amount of blood from the bite. Villiam's dark chuckle made the Sheriff whimper in fear. She was as defenseless as a newborn. She couldn't move her body that much anymore. She would squirm, but that's about it. She couldn't even thrash her form anymore.

It was horrifying. It felt like she was having the worst nightmare she could ever get. No, it was a _living_ nightmare. She wasn't asleep. She wish she was, but she wasn't. She will suffer and there would be no one that would save her.

She was going to be raped.

Eyes clenching shut and tears falling down on her face, she gave out one last desperate cry.

"VI!"

 ** _CRASH!_**

Caitlyn gasped when Villiam was suddenly, and literally, hauled off of her and flung across the room, his whole self crashing through a wooden chair with a painful crack. The wooden furniture stood no chance at the flying body and it broke upon impact.

The trembling sniper looked at the scene before her with shock. She couldn't calm herself completely, still frightened with the traumatizing possibilities that may come upon her. Just a step or two away from her was another hooded figure, but this one exuded an aura that would make any person's blood run cold. Compared to Villiam, this hooded person obviously gave nightmares with just its mere presence.

" **You dare touch her!?** " Came a terrifying satanic voice. It was blended with a voice that sounded so familiar in the Sheriff's ears, yet she couldn't place it. The demonic voice was too strong and clearly overpowered the softer vocals.

Utterly terrified, Villiam hastily got off the remnants of the now broken chair and backed away from the approaching individual. He raised his hands in front of him in surrender, visibly afraid for his life and completely forgetting about the woman he was molesting just a moment ago.

"W-W-Who a-are y-you!?" He stuttered out, absolutely frightened from the nearing figure.

" **Who do you think you are!?** "

Villiam choked on his words the moment a hand shot forward and grasped him by the neck, pinning him against the wall immediately after. He found himself looking to fear-inducing gold eyes he was sure he'd get nightmares from. Every time the being in front of him spoke, the glow of its eyes would intensify and become even more threatening.

The young Kinsley stilled when a magenta-tinted finger with a long black claw-like nail touched his lower lip, where traces of Caitlyn's blood can be found. He winced when the blistering fingertip touched his lip, swiping the blood away before bringing it close to its face to have a taste of it.

A growl.

As in, a _deep_ and _bone-chilling_ growl.

" **That's _her_ blood!**"

The searing hand around his neck tightened, threatening to break it. All the stranger needed to do was flex its hand and crack, Villiam would be dead. The same hand that touched his lip lifted up and came close to his face, which prompted him to release a fearful yelp.

"P-Please! Have m-mercy!"

" **Mercy!?** " A demon. Yes. He was so sure the being right before him is a demon. " **Did _you_ show mercy to _her_!?**"

All Villiam could do was whimper.

" **Scum like you deserve Hellfire…** " A wicked grin then spread across the demon's face. " **…but maybe _this_ will be enough.**"

Caitlyn's fear did not cease to wrack her body as she watched the demon give Villiam's face three scratches across the face in a slow and agonizing pace. Each bite and slice of the creature's claws through the man's skin made blood seep through those wounds and almost paint Villiam's face with burgundy. The claws started from his right eyebrow down before ending just below the left side of his jaw, his once blemish-less face now eternally scarred with three claw marks.

The grin on the demon's face widened. " **Every time you see those scars, you'll remember me, won't you? Won't you!?** "

Villiam choked on his sobs as his tears mixed with his the blood running down all over his face and staining his neck, which was still being gripped by the hellish person.

" **If you _ever_ talk to her again… _look_ at her… _think_ of her…**" A soul-killing growl. " **…I'll come back and fucking rip your head off your goddamn neck. Do you understand me!?** "

"Y-Yes…!" Villiam sputtered out, his pants moistening as he pissed himself out of pure fear. He didn't care about anything anymore. All he wanted was to make it out of the life-threatening situation alive.

…..

…..

…..

 ** _CRASH!_**

Villiam's whole body went through the wooden wall and landed in the hallway, unconscious. The demon looked at him with rage and disgust, hands fisting as its inner desires craved to maul the man to death. Growling, it turned away and faced the still bound woman on the bed.

Caitlyn, who had witnessed the entire happenings, was beyond shocked. When blue crystals met the burning hue of gold, Caitlyn wanted to be scared. Yes, you read correctly. She wanted to be afraid, because this creature that was walking towards her is a demon.

Yet why did her fear for life diminish once the infernal being, which was somehow her savior, sat on the space beside her?

Those claws made quick work of the ropes tying her to the bed, but much to her misfortune, the drug disabled her from moving. Caitlyn was even encountering great difficulty in speaking. Whatever Villiam had injected on her, it prevented her from doing _anything_ at all but breathe.

Once she was free, Caitlyn was held by the hips and was carefully out in a seated position. She refused to remove her gaze away from the shadow-hidden face of the person. She wanted the hood gone. The two obsidian black horns can be seen, but the face was still somehow concealed by the darkness.

As if her mind was read, the creature reached up and pushed the hood back. Before Caitlyn could see the face of her demonic hero, the latter bowed its head and took one of her hands into those dangerous-looking ones. Due to the influence of the drug, Caitlyn could only watch as the demon placed her limp hand against its warm cheek. Unlike earlier, the demon's temperature had decreased and its searing touch had been banished.

Keeping her hand against its cheek, the demon raised its head…

Caitlyn's breath hitched.

"Hi…"

Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes again. She can feel her lips quiver and struggle as she tried her hardest to utter the one syllable name she called out to. Her savior never did change. It was still _her_.

"Vi…"

Vi sorrowfully smiled at her, not letting her hand leave her face. The pinkette was no pinkette anymore. Her hair was white, her skin bore the hue of magenta, her eyes were gold, her head bore a pair of devilish horns and she possessed satanic teeth and nails. She was a demon… but she's still the same Vi Caitlyn had fallen in love with.

"Vi…" Caitlyn managed to utter her name again, tears once again falling. "You… You…"

A lone tear left one of Vi's eyes. "I'm sorry, Cait…"

Caitlyn visibly strained in shaking her head as she succeeded in saying one word. "N-No…" _'Don't apologize…'_

"I'm sorry I can't be the guardian angel you need me to be."

"No…" _'I don't need you to protect me. I just want you to come back.'_

Sirens of police Hextech cruisers reached their ears.

"I need to go."

"No… V-Vi…" _'Vi! No! Please!'_

Vi smiled tearfully at Caitlyn before turning her head slightly and kissing her palm. Caitlyn wanted to wrap her arms around Vi, to stop her from leaving her again, but the drug tortured her. Her partner didn't leave without giving her an official parting gesture. She felt a hand at the back of her head, while her forehead touched Vi's own, the base of the horns grazing her hair. She watched as Vi closed her eyes and whispered to her.

"I'll always be here for you, Cait. Remember that."

"Vi…" _'Don't leave me again...'_

"I love you."

Caitlyn was powerless. The only thing she could do was watch Vi pull back and turn away from her, climbing out of the room through the window she had broken through earlier.

"Vi…"

Her partner froze for a moment at the window sill when she heard her two-letter name be whispered. Vi didn't look back. She jumped off the window sill and out of Caitlyn's sight.

Just like that, Caitlyn felt like she had lost Vi again.

 ** _"I love you."_**

"Vi…" _'I love you too.'_

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Phew! Now… *offers tissue* Anybody cried? Anybody? :3 No? Okay. Guess that was too much to hope for. xD_

 _Well! Looks like Vi's alive! :P Pretty sure you readers already saw that coming. Did you guys see the clues I left from the past few chapters? You can actually differentiate Villiam and Vi from the past couple of chapters. The one wearing a **black** hoodie was Vi and the one with the **grey** hoodie was Villiam! Yep, I just did that. xD Did anyone notice? Or did you guys just brush it off and chalked it up as a mistake of mine? :3_

 _Anyway, like I mentioned in the early chapter/s, this story won't be as long as my Frozen Lotus stories, but hey! This still has a few chapters to go, so don't be too sad about it. ;)_

 _Besides, Vi and Caitlyn will be joining Katarina and Ashe in **"Bad Things"** due to a fan art I saw that showed Caitlyn looking like a diplomat form the Victorian Era. Diana and Leona will also be joining the Frozen Lotus pair in that story, thanks to the Dark Waters Diana skin. xD_

 _I plan on updating a one-shot in my League of Legends: One-shots story before I update this again, but who knows, right? It always depends on my mood on which one will get typed first. Until my next update~! ^u^_


	6. Chapter 6

**ACT 6** _(Chapter inspired from "Back From the Dead" by Skylar Grey)_

Undecided, the Sheriff of Piltover was not certain of how she will handle the unbelievable revelation that had unraveled right before her very eyes the previous day. She didn't know if she should be weeping and become some kind of traumatized shell of herself because of the disgusting incident concerning the Kinsley man, but the other half of the entire occurrence was what held her back.

It was the fact that when she called for her late partner's name, the latter had answered back personally in the most unforeseen way possible. Crashing through the window like some sort of hero and taking away the root of her fears in that very moment, the supposed to be dead Enforcer surely was her savior.

But she was no angel.

What some people may find odd is that Caitlyn was unable to bring herself in despising what her partner has become. Those satanic horns and claws, those beastly teeth, the fiendish skin color and monstrous gold slits as eyes, they screamed and served as clear signs for a sane person to stay away and hide in a place where not even a supernatural being could reach.

Caitlyn was not afraid.

The sniper wanted nothing more but to catch sight of the spine-chilling demon the pinkette had turned into. The people around her would probably run the moment they see her. Maybe even attack out of fear and self-preservation. Caitlyn internally shuddered at how their colleagues would react. Would they harm her once they come eye to eye with the human turned devil Enforcer?

"Why isn't she saying anything, doctor?" Her mother's voice somehow succeeded in reaching her ears.

Caitlyn was lying down on a standard hospital bed, gaze unmoving from the window that overlooked a part of the city. Once she regained her consciousness, her parents were already there in her hospital room, uneasily waiting for her awakening. She had merely stared at them and let out a breath before lying back and focusing all of her attention in her thoughts, gaze absently landing at the window.

"Ma'am," The doctor began. "maybe it would be wise if you give the Sheriff some time to rest. She might still be in shock of what had happened between her and Mister Kinsley."

She didn't hear what else the doctor had told her parents, but it seems to have succeeded in warding them away. After her mother and father gave their promises in returning, which didn't really reach her brain, they finally followed the doctor out of the room. The silence, with the exception of the low beeping of the heart monitor, gave Caitlyn the perfect chance to recall every memory piece by piece.

Jayce himself had led the rescue. She had only fallen into an unconscious state on their way to the hospital. The Defender of Tomorrow had arrived at the place where Villiam had brought her to, which was the Kinsley's little vacation villa near the outskirts of Piltover, which mainly explains why there were more nature and less manmade buildings. Dozens of officers were with him when they broke into the structure and took her away from the bed she dared not remember its appearance of.

She had questions that she wanted to be answered. Unfortunately, she knew her parents won't be able to give them the responses she's seeking for. Only Jayce was capable of doing such thing. With her yet to be located partner absent, only the man she called one of her dearest friends can sate her curiosity.

Her eyes wandered around the room in a leisure pace before it eventually settled on staring at the white ceiling of the room. Despite the color being completely bland, it reminded her of the silvery white hair her true protector now possessed.

Even though she was alone in the room, she felt like someone was there with her. Maybe she was on the verge of insanity, a thought that crossed her mind momentarily. As much as she loathed it, she knew that the drug Villiam had given her may be capable of causing hallucinations.

What if everything that had happened was just a huge figment of her imagination?

 _'_ _No,'_ She immediately protested in her head. _'it was real. I'm sure of it. I saw her. She saved me.'_

"Were you really there, Vi?" Caitlyn asked the air, distractedly staring at the ceiling.

As expected, there was no response from the person she envisioned in speaking with. There was still this feeling though. She wasn't alone. Maybe everything that had happened was a lie her imagination showed her. What if this presence she currently felt was Vi's ghost?

Goodness, she was becoming delusional.

 _ **Knock! Knock! Knock!**_

A quiet, almost soundless, creak sounded as the door slowly opened.

"Cait?"

Eyes instantly leaving the ceiling, Caitlyn lowered her gaze until it met Jayce's clearly relieved ones. The man looks to be quite happy that the Sheriff looks as healthy and unharmed as the doctor had guaranteed. He was worried Caitlyn might have some sort of allergic reaction or something worse that the drug could have caused. Thankfully, it was none of those two.

"Jayce."

A small spark of excitement flickered within her. Finally, her questions will be given its due answers. The manila folder he had in hand was enough to tell her that he didn't just come there to visit her. He was going to tell her everything. When Jayce noticed where her eyes were stuck on, which is the file he held, he felt even more relief wash over him. Caitlyn was still as curious as she usually is.

"Glad you're looking well. Wouldn't really know what I would've done at the station if not."

"I'm not easily down for the count."

"I suppose that's true." He then waved the folder up, emphasizing its existence before saying, "There's honestly a lot to tell you about."

Caitlyn sat up before her friend could help her. "I'm sure it is rather obvious I have time to burn."

"Right, well..." Jayce scratched the back of his head. "I guess I can start first with what happened to Villiam Kinsley."

Truthfully, Caitlyn wanted to discuss details that concerned Vi more rather than the perverted rapist her parents once claimed as a family friend and a prospective son-in-law, but she knew she'll be able to direct the conversation to that direction soon as their discussion progresses.

"What about him?"

"He signed his confession in less than a minute of the interrogation."

"He was already caught. Even if he had not complied, he would still end up behind bars."

"That's true, but it got me thinking."

"Thinking of what?"

"He was _scared_ , Cait. If you were there, you would have seen how afraid he was. He kept glancing around the room as if something's out there coming for him."

"Maybe there is." Caitlyn added as casually as she can, replaying the memory of Villiam being held against the wall by the neck.

"That's the same thing I thought about, especially when he started freaking out when one of the detectives mentioned you."

"Freak out how?"

"He started begging the interrogator to stop talking about you and that he'd give his full cooperation. He said that he doesn't want to talk about you or even think of you or else _it_ would come for her."

"And _it_ would be…?"

"That's exactly what I'm referring to."  
Jayce then pulled out a picture from the folder, handing it to Caitlyn. She immediately recognized what the image was showing, which was a phone booth. Surprisingly though, its state wasn't really the nicest. Vandalism is a common petty crime she encountered every now and then, but what stared right back at her was wholly different from the usual cases.

The printed image showed how the payphone was clawed off more than halfway from its place on the corner of the booth. The plastic body of the phone itself looked like it was melted a tad bit before it was left to hang completely. The door was torn off its hinges and can be seen laying near the entrance of the booth itself.

"What's this?"

"Cait, we didn't find you ourselves." Jayce revealed with a serious look. "Someone called us at the station and told us where you were."

Caitlyn took her attention away from the photograph, refocusing on her friend. "What are you talking about?"

"The person that tipped us of your location used _that_ ," Jayce pointed at the picture. "payphone to call us. The signal was traced there, and based from the call logs that the officers had checked, it matches."

"Who was it? Did you identify whoever it was?"

A sigh. "Unfortunately, we didn't."

"You trusted a stranger?"

"Not at first, no." Jayce then shuddered. "The caller had this voice… It sounded as if two people were talking, but I knew it was only one person."

"Jayce, what you just said contradicts."

"Precisely why it's giving me the chills." Jayce murmured, sounding like he was saying it more to himself. "Whoever, no, _whatever_ that person was, it wasn't normal."

The memory of devilish eyes flashed briefly in Caitlyn's head.

"Like I said, at first, I didn't trust the caller. I gave the tip a chance, because I was desperate. I needed to find you. When I saw the security footage of some hoodlum carrying you out through the backdoor of your apartment, it scared the hell out of me."

"You think," Caitlyn lowered her eyes back the picture. "it was the caller who did this?"

"In a world we live in," Jayce sighed. "I wouldn't really doubt if it was some sort of half-human half-beast."

"I suppose…" She trailed off with what she meant to say as she examined the photograph much closer than before.

"And Cait?"

Responding to the call of her name, the Sheriff raised her head and turned back to Jayce. "What?"

"Those claw marks in the phone booth? The forensics team says that it matches Villiam's new facial scars."

"You mean…"

Jayce nodded. "Whatever did that to the phone booth, it was the same thing that scarred Kinsley."

When Caitlyn heard those words, it made her heart skip a beat. The possibility of the unimaginable event that had transpired being true was becoming more and more of a sensible happening. Jayce's words assured Caitlyn that she hadn't went crazy and was in the middle of a deranged moment.

"Jayce,"

"Yeah?"

"When you arrived at the scene," Caitlyn once again made eye contact. "how did you find Villiam and I?"

"Oh, well, you were on the bed, remember? Villiam was lying unconscious in the middle of the hallway."

"There was a hole in the wall, correct?"

"Yeah, why?"

His answers were further proving that she had not imagined the incident. What she saw was nothing but the true occurrences. When Jayce noticed how deep in thought she was, he instantly knew that Caitlyn knows something he didn't.

"Cait," He started. "is there something you want to tell me?"

"I do not think you will believe what I witnessed." Caitlyn voiced out her concern, knowing Jayce would probably chalk it up as her being obsessed with a certain missing case.

"At this rate, I'm willing to hear it. Even if it sounds believable or not." Jayce then gestured to himself. "After all, you're talking to a guy that trusted an anonymous tip and has been playing cop for the past few days without proper training."

For a moment, she stared at her friend. Caitlyn was searching for any signs of Jayce lying to her, but she found none. He really was interested in knowing what she knows. She thought about it for a moment. What she knows may actually be a great help in officially closing their missing case. That is, if Jayce believes her.

"It was _her_."

Jayce's eyebrows immediately knitted together in confusion. "Her?"

"She came and put a stop at Villiam's plans for me." Caitlyn began her story as she recalled each memory with perfect clarity. "It was _her_ that marked Villiam's face. It was _her_ claws. It was _her_ that threatened to come for him if he ever dares to come near me again."

Realization dawned on the Defender of Tomorrow. "Cait…"

"It was Vi." Finally, she said it. The shock that mixed with the realization was evident on the man's face, but Caitlyn continued as if she had not noticed his expression. "She didn't look like herself anymore. She had these monstrous horns growing from her head and her hair was white… Jayce, her teeth was that of a beast's!"

"Are you saying… Vi turned into some sort of… demon?"

Caitlyn swallowed quietly. "I…"

She wanted to say that she had just hallucinated, but no, she would be lying to, not only Jayce, but herself as well.

"I know what I saw." Caitlyn's forlorn and somewhat distant look showed Jayce how her words held nothing but the truth itself. "Her body wasn't taken. She _left_."

"But she was dead." Jayce said, sounding as if he didn't believe his own words. "The coroner had done her autopsy. Cait…"

Jayce began pacing around the room, suddenly looking stressed. It's as if he had just found out that everything he had worked for in his entire life was meaningless.

"She was cut open by the coroner himself... I saw it with my own eyes..." Jayce murmured under his breath in a somewhat hasty manner, not able to believe that one of the people he deemed his friend was still alive and was some sort of hellish being. He faced Caitlyn again. "Are you _absolutely_ sure that it was Vi?"

"She apologized."

"Ap-apologized?" Jayce stumbled with his words for a second, blinking. "Apologized for what?"

"Because she couldn't be my guardian angel." Caitlyn said, looking more and more saddened as she remembered the emotionally painful departure of her Deputy. "Her words, not mine."

The tension in Jayce's body seemed to have decreased. His shoulders slackened as he looked at the sniper's depressed state. She wouldn't act like this if she was uncertain, and somehow, her reactions made her claims more authentic and legitimate. He shouldn't feel so stressed. Just by looking at Caitlyn, it was clear that whatever burden she's carrying, it's heavier than the one he's left with.

"I… I can tell." Was the only thing Jayce replied with.

She sighed. "I know it sounds more than just a farfetched story, but…-"

"No, Cait," Jayce offered a glum smile. "I believe you."

"You do?" Honestly, she was surprised that he actually believes her. She was already prepared to be wordlessly claimed as some sort of looney, but her friend seems to have a different view of her now.

"Knowing how tough Vi was, er… is," He chuckled quietly and still a bit uneasily. "a few bullets won't kill her."

For a moment, the two of them were left with their thoughts. Both parties trying to think of what to say next. Even though Caitlyn herself had caught sight of the gauntlet-wearing woman, she was still trying to take it all in as calmly as she can.

"So, uhh…" Jayce rubbed his nape uneasily. "Do you know where you can find her?"

His question caused the hospitalized sniper to frown. "As much as I would want to find her, she didn't say anything about where she's currently residing now."

"You can cross off her apartment from the list. The guys at the station usually go back there to sweep the area every now and then for any evidences they may have missed or might have turned up. So far, there aren't any changes or reports that may indicate that someone's still living there."

"I want to find her, Jayce. I need to." Caitlyn professed, her frown deepening. "I'll lose my mind if I don't."

Jayce shifted from his place as he slightly hunched his shoulders. "Did she say anything that might have at least a small connection to her whereabouts?"

A sigh.

"No, she didn't."

And _that_ was the problem.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

Caitlyn's release from the hospital was the key to the chains that bound the demon to the medical center. Its hooded form perched on the outer unit of the air conditioner built for the Sheriff's hospital room, back placed against the wall and head tilted backward and resting onto the flat surface, the demon closed its eyes as it absorbed all the words from inside the room with its heightened hearing.

Once the chatter died down and all it could hear was a cleaning staff preparing the unit for another patient, the demon pushed itself up on its feet and dusted itself with those dangerous-looking hands. Thirteen levels up from the ground, the satanic being withheld no fear whatsoever of the drastic altitude it was in.

Looking down to the parking lot, its eyes zeroed in on the vehicle of the Defender of Tomorrow, where the Sheriff was slipping inside of. The hammer-wielding champion was taking the British woman back home, which is the same apartment where she was abducted by that Kinsley bastard.

Instead of jumping, the demon turned around and fell off the platform with its back facing the edge. For a few seconds, the said to be atrocious creature bullet-dived before behemothic wings sprouted from its back and slipped through the two large holes found at the back of the loose hoodie.

The winged hellion flew high and weaved through buildings with ease, tailing the moving Hextech transport that accommodated the woman that it held close to its supposed to be nonexistent heart.

It's obvious who the flying creature is.

It was Vi.

The Enforcer smiled to herself as she landed on top of one of the buildings and watched Caitlyn exit the vehicle, refusing Jayce's assistance in the process. The corner of her lips twitched once she felt her wings retreat back inside her body. When she first discovered she now had wings at her disposal, it mostly freaked her out and somewhat disgusted her of how the skin on her back would tear open for her wings to sprout out, only to heal whenever it folded and shrunk back inside of her. She became accustomed to it now, not really finding herself revolted every time she used her wings to travel.

Waking up in the morgue and feeling this excruciating burning sensation eating her entire body, Vi was surprised that she succeeded in getting out of the station. Punching the wall wasn't really the quietest option of escape, but she already knew something was happening to her. It took a tremendous amount of effort just for her to force herself in disregarding the pain just to get out of a populated area.

She knew the moment her body and soul were being scorched from the inside that there was something happening to her. Something deeply malevolent and wickedly dangerous. She had to get out of there, and as much as it pained her, she pushed through with it and was thankful for the unexpected inhuman strength she wielded that very night.

By the time she transformed into a full-fledged demon, she was already at the outskirts of Piltover and just beside one of the forests surrounding the City of Progress. For a whole day, Vi had hunted down countless animals in the most brutal way possible in order to sate the bloodlust that was overwhelming her.

Thankfully, her self-control was stronger than she thought. After murdering various critters in the woods, she managed to succeed in controlling her lust for bloodshed and the metallic scent that smelled so sweet for her. She was no vampire, but she sure loves the taste of blood in her tongue.

And Caitlyn's blood…

Maybe a part of her demon self had a touch of vampirism. Every single time she would catch a whiff of Caitlyn's scent, the sweet smell of the thick red liquid that ran in her veins tempted Vi's control. It's one of the main reasons why she prompted in staying away from the sniper. She was frightened of the possibility that one day she might lose herself and end up killing the woman she wordlessly vowed to love and protect.

Vi was also afraid that Caitlyn might not accept her for what she had become. She was no mind-reader. She didn't know that her partner was not at all bothered with her appearance. Surprised, yes, but not repulsed. In truth, Caitlyn could care less of what she had turned into. All the woman yearned for is her Deputy's complete return in her life.

Head snapping out of her reverie, Vi's gaze fleeted towards the window that offered a view of Caitlyn's living room. She smiled again when she saw Caitlyn fall onto the couch and quietly relax on the soft cushions. Her beloved looked like nothing but an adorable woman.

"Guess we're all good here." Vi said to the air, giving herself one of those self pats on the backs as she turned away from the window.

Just when she thought Caitlyn had no intention in moving away from her current place, Vi was suddenly rooted on her present spot. The Sheriff got up from her place on the couch and made an out of the blue exit from her apartment. For a long and tense moment, Vi just stared through the window, waiting for any signs of Caitlyn returning in her sights.

Much to her shock, Caitlyn reappeared in her line of sights at the rooftop of the apartment. Vi scooted away from the edge and inched backwards until she was hidden by the shadows, not wanting the other woman to spot her across the building.

"Vi!"

The ex-Deputy stiffened against the wall behind her, her mind yelling at her to get the hell out of there. She was spotted. Why else would Caitlyn suddenly call out her name?

"I know you can hear me!"

Instead of making a break for it, Vi stared at the Sheriff with wide eyes, realizing the situation in a moment's worth of time. Caitlyn was walking around the rooftop, looking around while she called out and conversed with the said to be dead officer.

Caitlyn had not seen her, but she somehow knows she's watching.

Vi wanted to claw herself. Of course Caitlyn would suspect that she's somewhere around. She did save her from being violated by some arrogant prick. She couldn't bring herself to regret on doing so though. She would rather go through the agonizing burning over and over again rather than see Caitlyn be raped by some bastard.

"I know you're here!" Caitlyn claimed out loud, eyes darting from one rooftop to another. Vi had to hunch and duck low, not wanting to be caught by those sharply-trained eyes. "I may not know where exactly you might be at now, but I know you can hear me!"

 _'_ _Loud and clear, Cupcake.'_ She thought, pursing her lips firmly as she anxiously eyed the woman that holds her fiendish heart.

"As...!" Caitlyn stopped and seemed to have choked on her next word before she repeated herself. "As your superior, I demand that you show yourself! Right now!"

Vi blinked. _'What the hell...?'_

"Vi!"

This time, the gauntlet-user couldn't help but flinch at the authoritative tone that reached her ears. Even now that she's a frightening and utterly dangerous demon, she was still afraid of the possible punishments her Cupcake may unleash on her.

Vi lowered her gaze and contemplated, completely deep in thought. She was attempting to figure out how she's going to handle the situation at hand. At the back of her mind, she can feel herself thrashing against the chains of her fear. She wanted nothing more but to reveal herself again to the Sheriff, but she was absolutely afraid of Caitlyn's reaction.

Yes, Caitlyn had already seen her once, but it doesn't really count in her book. After all, the sniper was drugged during their last encounter. Vi was sure Caitlyn's true reaction was forcefully suppressed. It was, but she didn't really know what it would have been in the first place.

"How long are you going to leave me alone!?" Caitlyn questioned her.

Vi shook her head, hands firmly grasping her temple. "You're not alone, Cait..."

"How long are you going to stay in the shadows!?"

"As long as I can..."

"How long are you going to have me walk alone!?"

"Never..." Vi whispered to herself, her sense of vision suddenly blurring. Raising her head, she blinked away the wetness that layered over her eyes and gathered at its corners. By the time the blur was turned into drops that slowly fell over her face, Vi's eyes widened in horror.

Caitlyn was standing at the edge of the rooftop, lips parted and lightly trembling, body quivering in the very slightest and fear filling those turquoise crystals dyeing the precarious sight beneath her. Vi inched forward, her entire demon form oozing with anxiety and fearful anticipation.

"No..."

Caitlyn took in a shaky breath, hands clenching into tight fists and nails painfully digging into her numb palms. Her heart was beating frantically within the enclosure of her ribs, while her breathing was uneven and out of its usual pace.

One hand on the edge and claws lowly scratching against its surface, Vi may not know it, but her whole body was shifting and preparing itself for a lunge towards the center of her attention.

"Either I walk alone in the afterlife..." They were whispers, yet Vi can hear them perfectly. "...or you walk with me now."

...!

Vi felt like her heart rocketed out of her chest and bursted through her mouth the moment the core of her life stepped off the edge and fell to her imminent death.

"CAITLYN!"

The concrete underneath her hands were crushed without mercy the second she launched herself out of the rooftop and kicked against the solid surface for an additional boost. The sound of skin being torn practically echoed after the frantic cry of the sniper's name, those infernal wings casting a terrifying shadow from the sky.

One moment Caitlyn was freely falling, the next, she lost her breath. An audible gasp abruptly left her and the survival instincts she possessed in that moment prompted her from clutching onto the nearest sturdy thing she could get her hands on and arms around, which turned out to be the now winged creature's shoulders.

Her eyes had snapped open and honestly, she was surprised that she didn't experience any motion sickness of any sort. The hellion that held her securely and protectively in its strong arms kept her from falling any more than she had. Any sane person would have probably began to freak at the being that had swooped in from the shadows, but Caitlyn did none of such and merely stayed clutching against her demonic savior.

A loud clang of steel rang loud when Vi's feet collided against it and one of her hands gripped one bar to secure themselves on the perilous perch. Instead of searching for the nearest stable ground she could place her feet on, Caitlyn kept herself closer than ever to the white-haired demon, lips torn between smiling and frowning, while her eyes began to leak tears against the warm neck of her physically changed partner.

It was pathetic at how she clung so hopelessly against the woman she learned a bit too late that she was, and still is, in love with, but Caitlyn could not bring herself to care about such detail. She was incorrigibly yearning to be never apart from the woman that has saved her too many times than she deserved.

"Why...?" She heard Vi whisper almost inaudibly. "Why did you do it...?"

"Desperation..." She whimpered against her skin, her tears still flowing. "...why else...?"

"You've lived without me for years." Vi murmured, sounding as if she was battling with herself in her thoughts. She wanted to know why Caitlyn would actually attempt such a horrifying stunt. "Why can't you do it now?"

Caitlyn opened her mouth to utter her response, but all that left her was a breathless whimper before her lips pursed again and stayed in its quivering state. When she failed in providing an answer to the question, she took notice of how Vi had began shifting. She didn't know how those wings had folded itself and how Vi managed to successfully step into her apartment, but Caitlyn just knew that they were already in her unit. The broken lock of her window went unnoticed, the little sparks the electronic lock emitted not at all acquiring any ounce of attention from either of them.

The creak of her bedroom door was disregarded, but Vi's quiet footfalls and steadying breathing reached her ears with absolute clarity. Next was the low creak of her bed, which only sounded once Vi placed a knee on the mattress and gently laid Caitlyn onto the sheets. Unfortunately for the Enforcer, Caitlyn still denied her the freedom from those delicate arms of hers, which didn't surrender and stubbornly kept its lock around her neck.

"Why, Cait...?"

A whimper.

"Why can't you just live without me?"

...

...

...

...

...

"Because I love you..."

Vi stilled.

In the haven of her arms, Caitlyn felt how her partner became frozen all of a sudden. It was clear that her response was unexpected by the receiver of it, but she had no regrets in saying it. What she did desire though was to see the expression of her beloved, regardless of the noticeable difference between the original features of the Deputy. Arms leisurely loosening, Caitlyn felt Vi mildly pull back, but not completely.

That's when their eyes met.

Turquoise met gold and it was _marvelous_.

Instead of feeling herself be pushed away, Caitlyn felt like she could cry due to immense joy once she felt Vi's hands cradle her face in the gentlest way possible. It's as if she was going to break if she were to be touched too carelessly.

None of the two women dared in shattering the sensational gaze they both locked into one another. The galvanizing sensations that ran through their bodies and sent their hearts beating excitedly in their chests was too extraordinary to be ended so brazenly.

Vi's gaze showed how lost she was. How she was deeply hoping she had not mistaken Caitlyn's reply to her query. How she was irreversibly in love with the woman right before her.

"...You love me?"

Caitlyn's lips pursed for what felt like the umpteenth time as she nodded hurriedly, wanting to show Vi how much her heart had fallen for her.

"I do..." Caitlyn whispered, arms gradually falling from Vi's shoulders and hands carefully roaming up until they caressed Vi's cheeks. "I always have..."

Vi stared at her, eyes still looking as if it didn't know where to go. "But... But you told me..."

"I was a fool." Caitlyn whispered, more and more tears coming and falling. "I took you for granted. Didn't appreciate you the way I should have. You've done so much for me, yet I gave you nothing."

"Cait," Vi placed one of her hellish hands over her much human ones. "you're not a fool. I never expected you to give anything back. I blocked those bullets because I wanted to. I saved you from those explosions because I didn't want you to get hurt. Hell, I went on that patrol because I decided to. You did nothing wrong. I was shot and...-"

"And that's why I'm a fool!" Caitlyn clenched her teeth and lowered her head, her fingers twitching against Vi's cheeks. "Must you die for me to realize what I lost!? For me to realize that it was you that went between me and my own end!? For me to realize...!"

Caitlyn choked on her sobs and suddenly ran out of words. Her face was becoming a mess, yet the woman slash demon with her did not pull away. Instead, Vi took her in a warm embrace and shifted them both on the bed. While Vi laid on the pillows, Caitlyn was resting on top of her, face buried in her shoulders and tears and mucus staining the black fabric of Vi's clothing.

Vi should have left before she heard Caitlyn say those words she has been longing to hear for quite so long. She was powerless now. Caitlyn might not know it, but she had already succeeded in snaring her demon-turned partner in those heart-fluttering grasp of hers. The horned being now asked herself at the deepest part of her thoughts how she was going to force herself from separating from her beloved sniper.

The wings beneath Vi seem to be unbothered. In fact, those large extensions of her body seem to have unfolded in the midst of her shifting and was tempted to wrap around Caitlyn to form some sort of cocoon of protection around the vulnerable woman. Vi didn't really think about retracting them back inside of her since it was a process considered too slow and rather painful for the moment she's in.

Vi soundlessly held her breath when Caitlyn raised her head and had their eyes meet again.

"Would you still take me, Vi...?"

"Cait..."

"I know I do not deserve a second chance, especially with how I had treated you, yet here I am hoping for one."

Vi gazed at her despondently as she wiped her face clean with her sleeve, hand caressing her cheek after, while those devilish gold orbs searched her innocent hues of turquoise. "Between the two of us, it's obvious that I'm the one who should be worried about acceptance and second chances."

"Vi, you know what I...-"

"I do, Cait. Trust me, I do." Vi smiled at her, but it didn't really reach those slit-like eyes of hers. "You can see me now, can't you? No matter what happens, I might not revert back to what I used to look like. I might be stuck looking like a monster forever."

Caitlyn stared at Vi as if the other woman was losing her mind. She should have expected it, but she still couldn't believe Vi would actually think she was measuring her love for her through physical features.

"I've turned into this bloodthirsty demon. Caitlyn," The said woman took in an abrupt breath when Vi's hands gripped her shoulders in a more than firm grasp. Those gold eyes looked as if it flashed at her before it darkened with hunger, and it wasn't the sexual type.

"I thirst for your blood."

There was the truth. It was said to her without any hesitance, for the voice of the demon was laced with nothing but raw desire for her blood. The atmosphere around them had taken a much darker turn in just a second. The way those eyes were boring into hers made everything clear about the demon's craving.

Caitlyn should have recoiled away, frightened from the threat her partner posed to her.

Yet she didn't and she wasn't.

Her heart was beating wildly inside of her, which unintentionally tempted Vi more and more for the taste of the thick crimson liquid that flows in those delicate veins of the British female. The more seconds that passed, the more dangerous Vi's gaze turned.

"There's this side of me that wants nothing more but to tear you apart." Vi admitted, voice dropping into a low growl. The quickening beats of Caitlyn's heart was driving the blood-lusting nature of the demon to the very edge. "It makes me want to sink my teeth and claws into your skin. To see your own blood paint this body of yours..."

...

...

...

"Is that what you want?" Caitlyn did not stutter. She was somewhat moving on from her hysterical self little by little. She wasn't scared though.

The incredulous look she received from Vi wordlessly told her how much the demon herself could not comprehend what she meant with her question. What she was implying was absolutely unthinkable and utterly horrifying. Vi would _never_ do her any harm.

"N-No..." Vi grunted, her replying ringing with struggle. Obviously, the dark and wicked part of herself disagreed with her verbal response.

"If taking this risk means you staying with me," Caitlyn buried her hands in the back of Vi's head and into her white hair. "then I am willing to try."

"And put your life on the line every single fucking day you're with me? Cait, I'll...! I'll...! I'll kill you...!" Vi snarled, teeth baring and somehow emphasizing her warning slash threat. "And you know that I would never want to do that!"

"Then what do you want?"

Vi leaned forward and sat up, prompting Caitlyn in straddling her lap in return. Her hands did not leave the strands of white it dove into, fingers brushing softly against the smooth tresses. Slowly, those beastly teeth parted and those dark lips trembled a short distance away from Caitlyn's. The latter leaned close and placed her forehead against Vi's, eyes closing along with the demon's.

"I want nothing, Caitlyn... Nothing but..."

Caitlyn exhaled, one hand trailing down and towards the base of Vi's left wing. The fingertips lightly grazed the leather-like texture of the wing's skin, which the devilish woman responded back with a growl that was oh so quiet.

"...to love you the way I've always wanted to."

...

...

...

...

...

"Show me."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Hey, so, uh, I'm back! :D I wasn't really gone too long, I suppose? ✌_

 _I just want to say thank you to all of my readers who understood why I was suddenly closed off and vanished to Avarosa knows where. I've let my emotions get the best of me, but my rational side seems to have won the battle in the end. ^u^ (I made an announcement in Wattpad about supposedly going on a hiatus due to a personal issue, but it looks like my hiatus didn't really last xD)_

 _I suppose once you get played by someone for the first time, it's somewhat hard to recover. (_ _ಥ_ ___ _ಥ_ _)_

 _Although, it only took me, like, one full day to get over the person due to some things I found out, but hey! It did take an emotional toll on me. ●_ _︿● (I have a weird way of moving on xD)_

 _Anywayyy! Enough of my personal life though (since I'm quite sure you guys aren't really here to read about that xD)_

 _After much consideration, I've decided to separate the love scene between Vi and Caitlyn because some of you might not appreciate the idea of a human and a demon getting it on. If ever there are_ _ **important details**_ _that need to be mentioned for readers to understand the next chapter, don't worry, I'll put it in a_ _ **little summary**_ _at the_ _ **beginning**_ _of_ _ **ACT 8**_ _._

 _In short,_ _ **ACT 7**_ _will probably be a "little" chapter, since it'll probably just contain nothing but Vi and Caitlyn making love. Expect it to be_ _ **at least 2000+ words**_ _(or maybe much more if I decide on getting all detailed with the foreplay and the steamy stuff) This gives readers who doesn't like Demon x Human love scenes a choice to_ _ **skip ACT 7**_ _. ^_^_

 _Currently,_ _ **ACT 7**_ _(Vi x Caitlyn love scene) is_ _ **in progress**_ _! Expect it either later today, tomorrow or at least within the week. That is, if I don't encounter any personal problems or whatever. :3_

 _Till my next update, my peeps! ^u^_


	7. Chapter 7

**ACT 7**

"Show me."

Such sinful permission will not be taken so lightly by the demon herself. Those words were like gasoline being poured into the fire, the flames being the demonic woman that held the human in its gentle yet possessive clutches.

The deep throaty growl that left Vi made Caitlyn shudder in anticipation before she gasped the moment their positions were changed drastically. Her back made a nearly soundless impact onto the sheets, while the large and intimidating stature of the fiendish Enforcer greatly towered above her.

Vi was breathing in and out, her hot breath befalling Caitlyn as her claws unwittingly tore through the white sheets of the bed. Her self-control was slipping away from her, but she was trying her hardest to keep her grasp around it. Clearly, she was failing.

"Push me away..." Vi breathed out, words sounding ragged and suffocated. "Kick me back... Tell me to leave..."

The pleading and struggling champion knew how she would be emotionally wounded if Caitlyn ever did what she was verbally asking her to do. Her hands, which were so tempted to do unspeakable things to her beloved's body, twitched against the mattress, claws ever so closely cutting through the cushions.

Before Caitlyn could vocally refuse what Vi wanted her to do, those searing lips suddenly covered her softer ones. Caitlyn lost her breath she felt Vi's slick tongue slither so easily into her mouth like some sort of hungry serpent chasing after a little mouse. She gave a pleased yet muffled sound as an additional response to the mind-blowing action, one hand scratching Vi's cloth-covered shoulder and another pulling on those silvery-white hair with nothing but sexual need.

Vi's tongue, which was inhumanly flexible and longer than normal, dominated Caitlyn's without a single ounce of difficulty. The Sheriff didn't bother fighting for the impossible. No, she was already content in surrendering completely to the iniquitous passion only Vi was capable of bringing upon her.

"Vi...!" Caitlyn gasped breathlessly when the said woman pulled back to regard her with the most intense gaze she has ever given her.

"Be disgusted." Vi practically commanded her. "Tell me you're sick of what I look like. What I taste like. What I've fucking turned into!"

Hands pulled Vi down and gave her a wordless answer, responding back by returning their focus on the heated lip-lock they were in a few seconds ago. If Vi truly wanted to end everything, she wasn't really showing it, since she seemed to be hungrier when it comes to the dance between their lips.

"Never." Caitlyn whispered for a moment's worth of a break before pulling Vi back in.

It wasn't the lack of will in resisting, but Vi just couldn't fight anymore. In fact, the hellish woman did not seem to give any care about resisting, for she had allowed her hands to make quick work of Caitlyn's clothes. With not much care if she undressed her properly, Vi decided to let her claws swipe around. Satisfying sounds of cloth being ripped filled the room, which mixed with the quick breaths and lascivious sounds their tongue and lips made as they sexually battled with one another. Within a minute, the Sheriff shivered at the cool air that touched the skin that was exposed from different parts of her body, torn fabrics littering the bed sheets.

"Ah...!" Caitlyn yelped and their kiss broke. She could taste the blood that oozed out of the little wound her tongue now sustained. It wasn't accidental, that much she was sure. Vi had purposely bit her tongue. Gazing up to the hovering face of her lover, Vi stared at her intently and expectantly.

She wanted to taste her blood.

"Come."

And who was Caitlyn to deny the demon her yearning?

Once she said that one-word invitation, she parted her lips and let her tongue poke out slightly. It nearly sent Vi into a frenzy. Those demonic lips wasted no time in capturing her tongue, sucking aggressively to taste as much burgundy red as she can. Caitlyn moaned and hooked her right leg around Vi's waist, arms pulling her upper half off the bed as she pressed her chest against her beloved.  
The taste of her blood was massively satisfying for the devilish female. Contradicting with that though, Vi was still craving for more, for the minimized amount of blood that was offered to her was not even close to being considered enough. She was satisfied, but not completely. Vi growled again and pulled back, practically shoving Caitlyn back down to the pillows.

Chest rising and falling in a rapid manner, Caitlyn's eyes were bound to Vi, who dug her claws into the hoodie she wore before tearing it into pieces with aggressive movements. The poor clothing stood no chance and was reduced to nothing but tattered remains of black around the bed.

Caitlyn bit her lower lip when she caught sight of Vi's unclad torso. There was no bra, nor bandages, that concealed the Enforcer's chest. With the magenta skin decorated by those perfectly done tattoos that were retained regardless of the unforeseen transformation, the view before her was nothing but arousing and the living embodiment of the most sinful sex itself.

"Vi..."

Feeling too rapacious, Caitlyn refused to stop her hands from reaching up to allow her palms to glide over the warm skin. The well-sculpted abdominal muscles her fingertips touched could do nothing but cause the Sheriff to bite her lip again and significantly heighten her arousal. The firmness of each curve of the muscle underneath the warmer than normal skin was absolutely amazing against her touch.

"Cait..."

Much to her slight disappointment, Vi took her wrists and moved her hands until they were on her broad shoulders. Caitlyn's displeasure vanished the very second she started exploring the muscles around the particular area her touch was relocated to. She pursed her lips once Vi buried her face in her neck and began licking around and over her skin, lips nipping at her pulse every second or two.

The distance of her jugular vein from Vi's lips was bringing the latter closer and closer to her blood-lusting self, but her desire to sexually please Caitlyn seem to outrule any other hunger that came to her.

The sniper's hands wandered and ended up touching the fiendish wings again. The smooth skin of those demonic aspects were different from Vi's skin, yet it still held the same hotter than usual temperature the gold-eyed woman now owned. Caitlyn's breath hitched for a second when Vi started to trail downward, her wings flapping a few times as a visible reaction of excitement upon how she was looking forward with her plans for the vulnerable body of the woman in her mercy.

Almost like Vi's, Caitlyn's body was growing hotter and hotter with each kiss and lick she was rained down with by her satanic lover. A yelp left the Sheriff, while her body thrashed once against the clutches of her lover, who had abruptly took one of her nipples into its dangerous mouth. Caitlyn quivered underneath Vi, the remains of her attire serving no purpose in covering her at all. Not that she wanted to cover herself in the first place.

Her eyes closed, while her body reacted with tremors of ecstasy Vi brought down on her. Each graze of a precariously sharp teeth against her sensitive nipple always sent either an unavoidable yelp or a sudden moan. Now knowing these would be the results of such actions, Vi continued in teasing Caitlyn with light nipping and biting. The Enforcer didn't play favorites though. Vi made sure to give both of Caitlyn's hardened peaks its well-deserved attention.

"Oh, Vi..."

Just as she breathed out her partner's name, said person retracted herself and looked down on her as if she was a meal ready to be devoured. Oh, well, Caitlyn was sure she'll be devoured. One way or another, at least. Vi didn't say anything. Instead, she moved back and lowered herself on Caitlyn again, but this time, she's much closer to the core of all the arousal the sniper currently felt.

"Never thought I'd see you like this..." Vi murmured, eyes lighting up and teeth showing and forming into a grin-like smile the moment her underwear was torn from its place with an effortless tug.

Caitlyn's face became even more flushed than it was, feeling ashamed at how her head was entirely clouded with lust yet feeling not a pinch of regret at the predicament she had put herself into. She wanted nothing more but to feel Vi's feelings for her through physical actions.

"Vi...!" Caitlyn promptly cried out, jumping the second she felt Vi's forked tongue swipe a lick against her exposed slit.

When nothing happened immediately after the unexpected gesture, Caitlyn forced herself to look downward and see what her lover was up to. Vi was gripping her thighs, claws coming dangerously close to tearing through the soft skin. Judging from the expression her lover wore, it looks like Vi was processing the taste that her tongue had stolen from Caitlyn's heat. This only made the sniper's face become redder and warmer.

A quiet chuckle.

"You never disappoint, Cupcake."

Despite their situation not really being the most innocent, Caitlyn couldn't stop her heart from nearly stopping once she heard the all too familiar nickname her partner had long given her. It wouldn't really suit the activity they're in now, but she felt her eyes well up nonetheless. Vi noticed this in a heartbeat though.

Instead of continuing on her plans for Caitlyn's womanhood, Vi climbed back up until they were both in the same eye level. It seems like Caitlyn's tears had pulled Vi out of her lust-consumed state. The demon-turned Enforcer straddled her before leaning down and gently taking her face into its dangerous yet gentle hands.

"Something you want to tell me?" Vi asked her, smiling lightheartedly at her.

Caitlyn's hands shot up and covered her reddened face, feeling embarrassed. "It's...! It's nothing!"

"It's not really nothing if you're acting like it's everything." Vi kissed over her forehands, lovingly coaxing her in unveiling her face again.

Hands moving down slightly, Caitlyn peeked over her little cover. The smile that greeted her made her heart come close to stopping, while her breath nearly ran away from her again. One by one, Vi took her wrists and removed her hands from her face. Caitlyn wanted to resist and keep her mask, but Vi had the touch that convinced her in conceding without a word. Her fingers intertwined with one another over Vi's nape, while said demon's face idled over hers.

"Tell me." Vi whispered, her elbows preventing her from crushing Caitlyn with her own weight.

Caitlyn gazed at Vi for an entire moment, and in that moment, the other did nothing but look at her as if she was the most beautiful person that existed in Runeterra. For Vi, such was a fact.

"When you died," Her gaze flickered to Vi's chest, where she had last seen the bullet holes that ended the Enforcer's human life. "I always thought that I would never hear that pet name again."

"What, you mean, _Cupcake_?"

Blushing, Caitlyn nodded once. "Hearing it from you just now, it... It somehow confirms everything."

When a few of those gathered tears fell, Vi's expression softened greatly. Carefully, she wiped them all away before giving Caitlyn's lips a slow and gentle kiss.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream."

Vi smiled against the pair of lips of the sniper.

"It's not."

The coldness Vi left when she crawled downward once again didn't last, since the burst of heat that flooded Caitlyn's body felt like she was ignited by the wildest flame there is. A hand of hers slapped over her very own lips, muffling the moans that left them the second she felt Vi prodding her sex like a hungry demon she is.

Yelping, Caitlyn thrashed every once and a while against the firm hand planted over her stomach, especially whenever Vi's slick tongue would slither deep into her womanhood. She could feel how the long muscle would move inside of her, licking and rubbing against places a human tongue would not be capable in reaching. The excitement was rapidly building up within her, and Caitlyn knew she wouldn't last any longer. Vi was making sure of it.

Suddenly, Vi withdrew her tongue, prompting it in retracting in a quick motion. The abrupt movement caused Caitlyn to squeal for a moment. Instead of verbally reacting about the little display, Vi settled on messily yet eagerly feasting at her partner's drenched flower.

"Ah, ah, ah...!" Caitlyn gave up any effort in silencing the wanton sounds that came out of her lips. The hand that was on her mouth had moved to her pillow, her nails digging into the lifeless cushion to find some type of leverage.

The audibly loud squelching and slurping Vi made caused nothing but endless pleasure and arousal for the Sheriff, whose cheeks were already at its warmest and reddest setting. She couldn't bring herself to be embarrassed completely though. No matter how lewd she looked in that very situation, she wanted nothing more but to orgasm and to give Vi a taste of her essence.

It was such a lascivious thought, especially for someone like Caitlyn, but everyone always does have this side. The side that thirsted for nothing but utter sexual satisfaction.

"V-Vi! Vi...!"

Both hands now clutching her by her hips, Vi pulled her cunt closer than it already was, tongue greedily licking and teeth coming oh so dangerously close in drawing blood. Caitlyn squirmed and struggled against the hold, moaning loudly when Vi's tail snaked itself towards Caitlyn's torso and decided to tease her nipples with its hard arrowhead-shaped tip.

"Vi, I'm...-!"

Caitlyn pursed her lips the moment she felt and heard Vi snarl against her wet entrance, lips toying with her clit and teeth teasingly rolling and playfully biting the sensitive bud, which elicited an immense wave of pleasure that brought Caitlyn to her climax.

"Ahhh!"

The essence that sprayed once out of the Sheriff's quim made Vi jump in excitement, wings flapping erratically for a moment. Caitlyn's eyes went shut, while her honey visibly dripped out of her sex. The stickiness was cleaned by an eager tongue and soon, Caitlyn was left panting on the bed, while the apex between her thighs were moistened with her partner's saliva.

The British woman took in heavy breaths as an effort to acquire as much air as she could. Vi had just pushed herself up and had suddenly gathered Caitlyn's wrists in one hand, pinning both of them above the breathless female's head.

"Vi...?"

Instead of replying verbally, Vi changed positions and perched at Caitlyn's left, while she refused to free the wrists of the sniper. Caitlyn opened her mouth to protest, but her words became nonexistent once she spotted Vi's tail, which was slowly making its way in between her thighs. Unable to find her voice, the constricted woman turned to her bedmate to look for any possible answers.

...!

"Oh God...!" Caitlyn yelped all of a sudden, feeling the firm structure of the demon tail rub against her sensitive opening.

Vi's gold orbs darted between Caitlyn's face and heat, wanting to see how much each friction she caused affected the human in her mercy. Caitlyn's teeth dug into her lip, while her thighs squeezed together and everything beneath her waist couldn't keep still. Regardless of Caitlyn's efforts, Vi still managed to smoothly move her tail against the moist slit, tip teasingly poking inside every once and a while before resuming its grinding against the warm entrance.

A deep and low chuckle sent shivers up the Sheriff's spine, and so did the tongue that came down and licked from the bottom of her belly button up to one of her breasts. Once again, Caitlyn was reduced to a squirming and breathless mess.

"You're shaking..." Vi murmured, letting her wrists go and allowing the sniper to wrap her arms around her partner's head.

Caitlyn pulled Vi against her chest, back arching, while the Enforcer suckled on her left nipple. Vi's right arm wound around her torso, while the other oh so delicately trace its claws down and over her exposed stomach. In between those long legs of hers, Caitlyn can feel how aggressive the tail ground against her slit, immensely pulling her back for another orgasm.

Once she felt the pressure in her nethers, Caitlyn whimpered and grasped Vi's hair in a tight grip. Vi didn't seem to be affected. In fact, the demonic woman seem to have found the entire situation awfully satisfying.  
"Ahh!"

Vi captured Caitlyn's lips, the hand that was once clawing on her torso firmly grasping the sniper by the side of her face, fiercely ravaging the pair of softness she calls her lover's lips. The moment they broke away, their eyes opened and their gazes reconnected. While Vi had this serious and intense look, Caitlyn's were more half-lidded and made it obvious how spent she was. Despite the clashing difference of their stares, Caitlyn felt two strong hands securely lift her off the bed.

With not much effort in her part, she was back to being nestled into the safe arms of her very own demon, the large wings tenderly enveloping her and offering her an additional one-of-a-kind source of warmth. Caitlyn's eyes drifted open and close throughout the duration of her recovery towards the draining activity she had just went through, while her bedmate kept to herself and settled in just snuggling her face against the Sheriff's hair.

"You're too quiet." She heard Vi whisper in her ear. "Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"You can never hurt me, Vi." Caitlyn replied, one of her hands stroking one of the forehands laying over her. "Not like this."

"Alright..." Coming out as some sort of child holding her beloved teddy bear, Vi increased her grasp around Caitlyn and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "You should go to sleep."

Caitlyn nodded and was about to verbally say her reply, when a possibility crossed her mind. Even with the secured clutch on her, she still succeeded on shifting herself in her lover's arms and facing the said demon. She felt tired and was lacking great amounts of energy, but the panic was clear in her eyes. She didn't need to say why she looked so frightened all of a sudden.

"You won't leave, would you?" Caitlyn asked worriedly. "Please tell me you won't."

Vi stared with an unreadable expression. She quietly sighed and leaned forward, giving Caitlyn a featherlight kiss on the forehead. "You're probably tired from all that I did. Cait, you should...-"

"Vi, please." Caitlyn's lips trembled, while her tears were quick on gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I don't want you to leave. Not now, not ever."

"Cait..."

"Promise me you won't leave me while I'm asleep."

Vi wanted to say otherwise, but Caitlyn cut her off before she could.

"Promise me!"

Sighing once again, Vi lightly laid Caitlyn's head on her chest and embraced her. She hummed a random tune and brushed a hand over the sniper's back as soothingly as she could manage.

"I promise, Cupcake."

Once she vowed that she would not take her departure like she originally intended to during Caitlyn's slumber, the latter significantly relaxed in her arms. For a long moment, Vi found her eyes stuck on the ceiling and hand still rubbing Caitlyn's back out of comfort. She contemplated in her head about her plans.

The promise she gave can always be an empty one. All she needed to do was make sure Caitlyn was deep in her slumber before she makes any attempts in disentangling them and sneaking out of the apartment, probably never to be found again. She was sure her partner would live, but there's no guarantee Caitlyn won't pull another life-threatening stunt like earlier, which will force Vi out of hiding.

Breaking the promise would be equal to shattering Caitlyn's heart, just like how she had when her human life came to an end. Although Vi didn't actually desire to be assassinated and become a precarious, blood-lusting demon in the first place.

She couldn't and she wouldn't.

Vi resisted the third sigh she would make within the hour. Instead of doing anything that would come close to contradicting the promise she made, Vi decided to adjust her position on the bed, shifting until she was comfortable for the entire night.

"The things you do to me, Cupcake."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Uhh... Hey? ^^" I know, know, it's been a fairly long time ever since I updated and promised a continuation of the previous chapter. And, yes, I am shockingly alive (probably not for long)._

 _I've been sick with a really bad flu for at least a week and a half (I know, it sucked) and have not been eating properly for the past couple of days due to some weird lack of appetite thing. Haven't totally recovered from the sickness yet. Oh, and by the way, I've already told this to one of my friends, but I guess you readers should know as well._

 _Due to recent financial problems, I might not be able to update immediately and get back to my stories as much as I would want to. If ever I don't update for like, a super long time, I am probably homeless and can be found somewhere in the world, dead. XD (joking, not joking)_

 _Anyway! Any suggestions you guys might have that could poke at my imagination or just plainly want to talk? Don't hesitate on messaging me. Trust me, I'm a nice person. ^u^_


	8. Chapter 8

**ACT** **8**

Insanity has always been one of the top candidates in Caitlyn's point of perspective when it came to the list of things that would lead her to her end. She knew that one day it would be her own brilliant mind that would break under all the pressure she had put into it.

As she slowly emerged from oblivion and grasped her consciousness, the thought of insanity crossed her mind. Being engulfed in a shell of protection in a form of warm and magenta-tinted arms and feeling the slightly fervent breath of the owner of the mentioned limbs, Caitlyn hesitantly returned to reality as she opened her eyes.

The scent of flames reached her nose and her eyes ended up tracing wherever it originated, which led her line of vision to those parted lips of her bed companion. The smell wasn't overwhelming, but it did bring back flashes of what that mouth had tasted.

A hand of hers stretched upward until it caressed the cheek that bore the iconic roman numerals at the same time name of her partner. The Sheriff's fingertips gently traced the ink on the skin, her eyes looking absolutely dazed at the sight before her. It took more than just a few minutes, but Caitlyn eventually acquired her fill. She stopped those light touches and settled on wrapping an arm around her sleeping demon, placing her ear against the chest that concealed a strongly beating heart.

Once she heard those calming, stable heartbeats, Caitlyn felt like she could fall back to a blissful slumber. A sigh of content was quick to leave her, while she adjusted and made her embrace firmer than it originally was. Although the affectionate gesture was not bothersome, it did awaken the Enforcer.

When Vi turned into the unspeakable creature she is now, she always thought she'd wake up alone in the little nest she made in the practically abandoned space in the tall clock tower right beside Incognium Runeterra. Despite believing she could never return to her previous life, Vi stayed close to Caitlyn and made sure the latter was within reach if ever the moment called for her assistance.

"Damn..." Vi whispered, and based from the sudden stillness of the sniper, her tenderly uttered words were heard. "...you woke up before me? Guess that means I can't sneak out now, huh?"

Vi felt herself surprisingly get pushed back at least a small space away, which caused her to promptly look down and witness the horrified turquoise eyes of the Sheriff. Her humor didn't really affect Caitlyn the way she originally intended to. Seemingly lacking the words to provide a verbal response to the expression before her, Vi settled on staring back with an unspoken question in her gold irises.

"Are you that decisive upon leaving me?"

Her right hand dove into her hair and scratched the back of her head, suddenly feeling a bit sheepish at the reaction she garnered from the sniper. "You didn't have to make it sound like I hate being with you."

A quiet thump sounded when Caitlyn unexpectedly gave Vi's shoulder a punch. Even if the Enforcer wasn't a demon, she knew she wouldn't have felt the feeble strike the Sheriff had inflicted on her. Although the gesture itself surprised Vi.

"That's because that is _exactly_ what you are telling me!" Caitlyn snapped at her, a mixed expression of despondency and disbelief painted on her face. "It's as if you want _nothing_ to do with me."

Vi was left on the bed with her mouth slightly agape in shock, only taking a second to watch Caitlyn vacate the bed before she herself rushed off the bed and followed after her partner.

Meanwhile in Caitlyn's thoughts, an abrupt explosion of concerns flooded her head. By the time she was at the doorway of the bedroom, she realized that her actions could possibly drive Vi farther away from her. Such development would highly result in the female demon taking her leave earlier than she was planning.

Suddenly overwhelmed with her worries, Caitlyn spun back around and faced Vi, whose steps halted the second their eyes met each other. She was getting a tad bit dizzy with all this mood swings she's going through, but she couldn't bring herself to care about such. Caitlyn was too afraid that Vi would have flown off as a reaction towards the attitude she presented in bed just recently. She wouldn't really blame Vi if the latter were to leave due to such reasoning, but she also couldn't bear the possibility of losing her partner again.  
Apparently, Caitlyn had been standing for a full minute and had been wordlessly staring at Vi with a gaze that was full of fear and looked absolutely troubled. The demonic woman's face flashed nothing but unease, worried that Caitlyn might have changed her mind and was now bothered with her state of appearance. With the natural light flooding through the window and putting her in full display, Vi was a bit apprehensive with how the woman before her would react.

Maybe Caitlyn had come to regret sleeping with her?

Maybe she saw her as the hellish creature she is that doesn't deserve to be with an innocent human like Caitlyn herself?

Even though Vi's wings had retreated inside of her in the middle of the night, the fiendish horns that protruded through her unusually white hair and the precariously sharp black nails were completely out in the open. They were as obvious to any onlooker as her skin color, which didn't look even an inch close to being considered a normal skin tone.

"Cait...?"

One second Caitlyn was staring, the next, she was enveloping Vi with the most tender embrace she could give at that moment. Vi felt completely clueless with how quick the situation shifted, but she was not one to refuse a hug given to her by the one she's been protecting for so long. When Caitlyn felt two strong arms engulf her firmly, she honestly wanted to tear up again. In her eyes, everything was too good to be true.

"I'm sorry." She murmured ever so softly, tightly clinging to the other female. "I'm so sorry..."

If Vi was confused earlier, she's utterly baffled now. At first, Caitlyn didn't receive her little joke about sneaking off quite well. Then, when she abandoned the bed and was about to walk off, she suddenly turned and just stared at Vi with a look that tugged on her heartstrings. And now, Caitlyn was holding her as if she was about to vanish in a puff of smoke at any moment.

Fingers brushing down and through those midnight locks, Vi murmured, "I don't really know why you're apologizing. Between the two of us, I should be the one that's saying sorry."

"No, please, don't be." Caitlyn hurriedly said, and the fear and worry that coated the reassurance somehow frightened Vi.

"Why do you sound like you're scared, Cait?" Retracting herself enough for their gazes to connect, Vi caressed her partner's cheek as she asked a question laced with nothing but her own worry. "Are you scared of, well... me?"

Caitlyn's eyes widened. "No, no! Of course not! Why would you even...-"

"It's just that, your voice, you know. It's like there's something bad that's going to happen if you didn't say sorry."

"I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"About you disappearing." Caitlyn admitted before intently eyeing Vi. "Why would you even think that I'd be afraid of you? Out of everything we've been through?"

Vi shrugged halfheartedly. "I've changed. I'm sure you can see that. Felt it, even."

"And you think your appearance matters a great deal to me?"

"In my eyes, it does." Vi weakly countered, frowning. "To the city? I'm pretty sure it's a big deal, too."

"Now you're thinking such is going to pose as a threat to our relationship?" Caitlyn questioned her, the incredulous expression on her face prompted Vi to hunch her shoulders for a moment. It was a habit the Enforcer picked up when she was growing up.

"What _is_ our relationship, Cait?"

And there was the question both of them desperately wanted to be answered.

Caitlyn's mouth was half-open, the words that were supposed to leave her suddenly morphing into nothing but a breath. In front of her, the downhearted gleam in Vi's eyes showed how afraid she was upon hearing a possible response. The Sheriff awfully wanted to do nothing but tell Vi how much she yearned to return the feelings she'd been giving her for so long, but she was more than a little scared that Vi might say otherwise about it. She kept her partner waiting for a long time and Caitlyn honestly felt like she doesn't deserve someone as caring and loving as the bleached-haired demon holding her.

As for Vi, the latter was nervous about how Caitlyn would label their relationship status. What happened the previous night should have made things at least a bit clear for both parties, but Vi refused to place her hope on the vulnerable moment they spent together. Indeed they've missed each other, especially since it was their first time being separated from one another that lasted as long as it had.

Last night, they had sated their lust for one another, and maybe even made love? Vi was absolutely anxious about that aspect in particular. What if Caitlyn literally just wanted to test the waters? Who would test the waters with a deadly attempt on their own life though? Vi just didn't want to have her hopes crushed, so she resisted the act of believing.

Seeing is believing, yet the two of them were acting as if they've been blind throughout the previous night.

"What do you want it to be?" Caitlyn was internally surprised that her query sounded so calm, since she felt like her heart was about to fail inside her chest.

"I've been wanting to call you my girlfriend for so long," Vi sincerely admitted, gaze trailing away out of self-consciousness. "but with how I turned out, I don't think it'd be right."

"Are you seriously basing your answer to what you look like?"

"Cait, I don't think you're getting me. These horns? These claws? My tail? These aren't just some costumes I can take off and pretend like everything's back to normal. Can't you see that? I'm a _demon_. I don't act like one now, but deep inside, there's this part of me that I don't know if I could control or not."

When Vi made a move to step away from Caitlyn, the Sheriff kept a firm grip on her arms and denied her intention on putting some space between them. Despite her strength being far more superior than the British woman, Vi relented and allowed her partner to keep her there. Caitlyn's heart ached, knowing if Vi had her way, then she would have been long gone even before she had woken up from her sleep.

"Why do you insist on leaving?"

"I just told you, didn't I?"

"It's not enough of a reason!"

"Then what do you want me to say!?" Vi demanded, looking absolutely lost and confused.

"Tell me you'll stay!" Caitlyn bawled at her, giving her a single frantic shake before she repeated the point she had mentioned earlier. "Because all you've been telling me ever since last night is that you want absolutely _nothing_ to do with me!"

"You know that's not true!" Vi argued, eyebrows furrowing in ire, while disbelief was written across her face. "If it was, then I would have let you fall to your death last night!"

Caitlyn released Vi and weakly and hopelessly pounded on her partner's chest and shoulders, finding herself sinking into a state of a tantrum.

"You should have let me die, then!" She yelled at her, tears falling and escaping the control that had vanished. "With what you're doing and saying to me, you're practically killing me yourself!"

Vi's footing remained rooted in place, while she took Caitlyn's somewhat feeble assault with no plans in defending herself from it. She turned her head away and blankly stared at her left, where the sun was slowly climbing up the horizon. But as she tried her hardest to avoid Caitlyn's brokenhearted gaze, her own tears leaked out of her eyes.

"That's exactly what I'll do," Vi whispered, which halted Caitlyn's fists. "if I don't leave you."

Instead of experiencing another rain of fragile pounding from those delicate hands, Vi took in an abrupt breath when Caitlyn suddenly embraced her as tightly as she could manage. The contact between their skins made her want to cry even more. The smooth skin against her scar-littered body was the one she had always made sure remained absent with any type of burns, scars and blemishes. It made her recall all the times she nearly gave up her life in exchange for Caitlyn's survival. She had no regrets whatsoever when it came to that.

"Please, Vi... Risk it with me." The tears that were dripping onto her bare shoulder felt like daggers stabbing into her. Causing those tears was never her desire, and it pained the ex-criminal that she was the one responsible for it. "Just don't leave me again... I tried, Vi. I really did, but I just _can't_ force myself to live as if you never played a crucual role in my life..."

Vi's eyes widened and her gaze snapped towards Caitlyn once she felt her body slipping downward. Vi didn't need to possess the ability to read minds in order to know what Caitlyn intends to do. She was going to _kneel_. She was going to _beg_ her to stay. She was _desperate_.

Before Caitlyn's legs could bend any further and collapse beneath her, Vi caught her and pulled her up until they were straight again. Once they were stable and kept the sniper standing on her two feet...

 _ **Thud.**_

Vi was on her knees and was holding Caitlyn's legs in an inescapable grasp. Her face was pressed against Caitlyn's left thigh, her tears painting the skin. If she were to try, no matter how much she would shift, Caitlyn would not be able to move. Vi had her in an unbreakable clutch.

"Don't." Vi whispered against her thigh, eyes clenching shut. "Just don't."

"Vi..."

"Don't do it, Cait... Never do it." Vi's shoulders began to shake as her tears came and fell. Each plea she gave sounded as if she was groveling to Caitlyn, and the more she uttered her pleas, the more her voice cracked like some sort of glass on the verge of shattering. "Not for anyone. Not for me... _Never_ for me."

"I..."

"Don't you _dare_ kneel!" Vi shouted against her thigh, her demands sounding like a cry for forgiveness. "Don't you dare _beg_ for me!"

"..." Caitlyn was entirely speechless. She lowered her gaze and found herself out of words when she caught sight of Vi weeping against her, shoulders shaking visibly and lips giving trembling breaths.

Indeed she was a demon by appearance, and can be classified as one, but she was so far from being one. She was still the same Vi that wanted nothing but the best for the Sheriff of Piltover.

"Caitlyn..." Vi gritted her teeth while her words faltered into a crestfallen mess. "I should be the one begging you to stay with me! I've turned into this _thing_ , but you still want me to stay! I...! I don't deserve it, Cait! I don't deserve _you_! I'm the one who should be on their knees! Who should beg! Because I would rather die over and over again than see you kneel for me!"

Countless tears fell from both women yet they remained in that position for a fairly long moment. Caitlyn covered her mouth to muffle the sobs that wracked her entire self, while her tear-blurred eyes can only watch as Vi clung to her and shed those tears as clear as her own.

Inch by inch, Caitlyn sunk to the floor and joined the crying demon, who loosened her hold around her for a short span of time. When she was finally situated in the same level, Caitlyn found herself being gently but securely kept on Vi's lap, while the said woman tightly held onto her as if she was her lifeline. She welcomed Vi's embrace, the face of the Enforcer buried against the spot where her neck and shoulders meet.

Caitlyn encircled her arms around Vi's neck, cradling her partner and silently telling her she possessed not a single fiber of her being that craved to release her.

"Why...?" Vi shakily whispered, sobbing quietly. "Why can't you just... let go...?"

Eyes drifting close and hands lost in a sea of pure white tresses and midnight locks, their hearts could only beat loudly in their chests, both wanting to tell each other how much they terribly ached and was crushed at the words they traded just a moment ago.

"...Because I love you."

Vi's body twitched and her arms significantly tightened around Caitlyn. When she heard last night's proclamation of love from Caitlyn, Vi was in utter shock. She didn't really believe her partner was deeply serious with the admission.

No sooner than the Sheriff anticipated, Vi morphed into a complete emotional wreck of her once strong-willed self. Her beloved clung to her with desperation, weeping and wailing with absolute sorrow. It was as if Vi became a child and was holding onto the only person that she could depend on in that heartbreaking moment.

It was the first time Caitlyn saw Vi become utterly vulnerable.

Caitlyn's tears still came and fell over her cheeks, but her sobs seemed to have subsided. It had always been her that expressed her emotions. It was always her that was being held and comforted. Feeling Vi's tears spilling on her unclad skin, it was torture. Not only that, but the blatant trembling of the supposed fearless woman shattered Caitlyn's heart to pieces. It prompted her a meeting with realization.

"I don't want to leave, Cait!" Vi confessed, sounding and feeling entirely hopeless. The more she admitted the truth, the more her tears poured. "I never did! I just want to stay here with you! I shouldn't, but goddamit! I can't turn my back on you! I just _can't_ leave you!"

"You don't need to leave." Caitlyn whispered quietly, half-consciously brushing Vi's hair. "You can stay. I want you to... I need you to."

"I was scared! I was scared that if I walked away from you, you'd actually let me go!" Vi raised her head until their tearful gazes met. "Don't let me go, Cait... Please... Don't let go..."

Delicately holding Vi's cheeks, Caitlyn leaned down until her lips touched another. The lips that belonged to no other than the golden-eyed demon was quivering, just like her body. Caitlyn softly spoke against it, eyes close and ears hearing nothing but the tremors of each breath the once pinkette took.

"Never."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

It was half past twelve in the afternoon, and it has been more than just a single hour ever since the unstoppable pair had woken up from their slumber. Regardless of the two of them experiencing one of the most blissful sleeps they've ever had in their whole life, the following morning didn't really start in the right direction.

They had screamed at each other, argued with one another. It was a perfect example that showed how completely different they are if comparison was done between them. Even with the obvious differences with their approach about the matter at hand, they eventually settled with one of the most silent yet pleasant moments they've spent together ever since they met.

Despite having a perfectly comfortable bed free for the taking in the same room they're in, Caitlyn and Vi can be found lying on the carpeted floor across and facing one another. While the Sheriff was still clad in nothing but Vi's arms, the Deputy herself was surprisingly considered the most decent between them. Vi still donned her pants, which remained untouched during the previous evening's heated activity. But other than the pants, Vi was nearly considered as naked as the woman she has in her embrace.

Caitlyn had never been nude this long, but the way Vi's hands innocently ran all over her body and touched the curves she possessed as a form of worshipping, it didn't cause her any intentions in yearning for whatever coverage she might be able to slip on. The little grazes and caresses of those warm fingertips immensely soothed the sniper.

Their tears had finally vanished, which left the couple to enjoy each other's company without weeping about how they were _'stuck'_ in complicated circumstances.

Honestly, Caitlyn was not aware how long had passed, but she was still not bored at the sight of Vi's face. The magenta-hued skin and the dangerously pointed horns weren't there before Vi was shot, but Caitlyn felt like nothing changed. It's as if she was still looking into the electric blue crystals her Enforcer always owned, the calming and soothing aura telling her how she was safe as long as she was with her.

"Thanks, Cait." Vi murmured after hours of nothing but exchanges of quiet breaths.

"For what?" Truly, she was confused with her expression of gratitude. Caitlyn didn't really see any reason why Vi was thanking her in the first place. "For loving you?"

"That, and," Vi smiled as she gently tucked some of Caitlyn's hair behind her ear. "for letting me cry."

"I... don't really know what to say."

Vi's smile mildly widened. "The last time I cried, I was seven years old. Was cooped up behind a dumpster, fighting off some fever."

A disheartened expression shaped Caitlyn's features, wordlessly showing Vi how she was affected with the tiny bit she shared about her past. Somehow, her face elicited a little grin from the other woman.

"I'm fine now." Vi assured her, brushing her thumb across the sniper's cheek. "Don't think much about it."

"The tables between us should be turned." Caitlyn murmured, one finger delicately tracing the Enforcer's collarbone.

"What do you mean?"

"I should be the one caring for you. Make sure you're faring well."

"Don't worry about that, Cupcake. I grew up independently, so I don't really need someone to watch over me."

"Yet you cried."

She didn't know if it was just her, but Caitlyn was sure Vi's cheeks became a shade darker than it already was. Was she blushing?

"Geez... If I knew you'd hold that against me, I wouldn't have cried in the first place." Vi half-heartedly joked, eyes trailing off elsewhere.

"You know what I mean."

With that simple point, Vi returned her stare's focus to her _'floormate'_ , who was giving her a genuinely concerned look. The gesture almost made Vi shake her head. Her tail smoothly wound itself around Caitlyn's waist before it harmlessly pulled the said woman closer to her, their bodies pressing against each other. Once their skins made contact, Vi hooked her right arm over Caitlyn's hip, while she used her left as a makeshift pillow for herself.

"I do. And honestly?" Vi moved her head and brushed her nose against the tip of Caitlyn's own, chuckling. "You're the only person I'll ever depend on taking care of me. That is, as long as it's mutual."

Wrapping an arm around Vi and burying her face in the tattooed neck of the demonic woman, Caitlyn mumbled, "It is."

It took at least one full minute, or maybe more, with them staying in that position. The floor may not be the ideal mattress, but they were too preoccupied with each other's presence to notice such detail. Though just because they were focused on one another, that didn't mean Vi wouldn't feel Caitlyn's lips form into a curve against her neck.

"Cupcake?"

"So you'll stay?"

They've been going around that question over and over again for the past couple of hours they've spent together, which was why Vi couldn't help but wear a smile of her own. After what felt like days of arguing and disagreeing, Vi finally had answer to give.

"You want me to, don't you?"

"I need you to." Was the immediate response.

...

...

...

...

...

"Who's cooking, then? Me or you?"

Much to Vi's total surprise, a quiet laugh originated from the Sheriff, who retracted back and looked at her in the eye with a relieved gaze, and something tells Vi that behind all that relief was a massive feeling of happiness.

"Do eggs sound good to you?" Caitlyn asked, and for what seemed like an eternity, she was showing off that one in a billion heartening smile Vi had always loved. The food would have been perfect if it wasn't afternoon already, but food is food. Besides, they weren't really in the mood to be picky.

She grinned. "Cupcake, everything you say is good for me."

Caitlyn could feel how much she felt like she always had before Vi had met her tragic end. She did experience death, but by some twisted turn of destiny, she was given a chance to remain in the land of the living. The Sheriff could not be any more thankful to whatever or whoever it was responsible for Vi's controversial resurrection.

Regardless of the vast change of appearance, Caitlyn felt like they were back to how they once were. This time though, she had the privilege to embrace Vi as someone more than just a friend. She could kiss her anytime she craved for the taste of those lips. She was Vi's one and only sweetheart, and the official title brought immense gratification for her.

Caitlyn went towards her dresser and pulled out a pair of plain violet panties, nothing else, slipping them on before turning back to the door to make her way out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. Vi was staring at her with amusement, which prompted her to query about the look.

"Is there a problem?"

"You're good with that?" Vi asked, momentarily eyeing the lower underwear she had on.

"I am."

"I guess there's always an apron in the kitchen, right?" Vi joked, grinning at her own humor.

Instead of scolding her or giving a retort for her little comment, Caitlyn proceeded out of the room, but not before giving Vi a kiss on the cheek and a one word whisper in her ear.

"Precisely."

Vi watched with warm cheeks as Caitlyn sauntered out of the bedroom in nothing but the panties she recently wore, seemingly unbothered with her lack of top clothing and everything else. She shook her head to regain her focus, settling on swiping Caitlyn's nightrobe, which was a plausible option for the owner herself, and throwing it on. She tied it close, liking how Caitlyn's scent invaded her sense of smell before she followed the invisible trail the other had left.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

The Hextech vehicle came to a half in front of the Sheriff's apartment, its driver exiting with his signature hammer. It was already seven o'clock in the evening, but Jayce somewhat guessed that Caitlyn still hadn't cooked anything for herself. He knew she grew this habit of experiencing the lack of appetite ever since Vi's supposed departure from the world.

But the information they've gathered and the dots they connected were too coincidental and can be considered massively unusual. As much as Jayce wanted Caitlyn to be at peace with Vi's demise, he would have to open old wounds for this particular matter.  
Just because he had seen the coroner cut Vi open to extract the bullet embedded deep inside her didn't mean that he should rule out possibilities that he hadn't even explored yet. Surely, this was how Caitlyn and Vi cracked the cases they were handed to in the past.

The Defender of Tomorrow strapped his Mercury Hammer on his back before he took the takeout he had ordered earlier from the front seat. Once his transport was securely locked, he made his way into the apartment building. He ducked into an elevator after he crossed the average-sized lobby, riding the lift up to Caitlyn's floor.

Meanwhile, inside the Sheriff's apartment unit...

Vi laughed against the lips that attempted to _'wildly'_ ravage her own, heedlessly pushing the chair in the way. The furniture tilted on its two rear legs before it tumbled to the side, causing a thud or two to echo in the apartment unit. The ruckus didn't reach Caitlyn's ears though. No, she was too distracted attempting to pin Vi against something solid.

Earlier, it was her trying to play mouse, while Vi was the devilish cat that pounced on her with each slip she tried doing. In less than fifteen minutes, Vi had cornered her and ended up taking her on the kitchen floor. For a moment, an image of Vi and her doing naughty things on the kitchen island crossed her mind, but it didn't really stay too long. After all, she was still trying to corner Vi herself.

"What's the matter, Cupcake?" Vi spoke against her lips, grinning slightly. "Can't keep up?"

Caitlyn growled quietly before she abruptly jumped onto Vi. The Enforcer gasped out a laugh once her back made contact with a wall, and Caitlyn certainly did not waste the opening her partner willingly provided her. Legs hooked on the demon's hips and hands tightly clutching those white strands, Caitlyn covered Vi's lips with hers and slid her tongue inside almost immediately.

The sniper knew Vi could easily grab her by the hips and turn the entire position they're in around. The thought of being slammed against the wall and her bewitching devil licking and sucking on her lips and skin, oh, how it turned her on.

Vi groped her by the butt to keep her from falling, those devious little hands shamelessly squeezing and the claws teasingly pressing down on her. She wouldn't get cut. She trusted Vi.

Surprisingly, her demon Deputy was still wearing her nightrobe. They had taken a bath together a couple of hours ago. Soaking in the tub never felt so good, if she were to be asked. Laying in Vi's arms and actually falling asleep in them while in the bathtub, it was rather heavenly.

Caitlyn moaned and just focused all her attention in keeping up with Vi's sly tongue, which was toying with hers in a teasing manner. She didn't notice that Vi had gotten off the wall and was heading towards one of the couches in the living room. On her little way to the sofa, Vi bumped into a flower vase displayed on an end table beside the archway.

The white-haired woman pulled back and glanced at the glass shards and the littered plastic flowers on the floor for a moment, head lifting and returning her eyes' focus on sniper she's carrying. She gave a quiet laugh.  
"Sorry 'bout that. I'll... pay for it?"

Caitlyn smiled and shook her head. "You can pay for them with your lips."

The grin didn't make it on Vi's lips, but the playful gleam in her gold eyes did. For a couple of seconds, they kissed, unmoving from their current spot.

"And hands." Caitlyn abruptly added breathlessly, resuming the kiss for another moment before pulling back again and huskily following with, "And that galvanizing tongue of yours."

Vi finally succeeded in flashing her signature charming grin. "I'll even pay you with my whole body if you want."

"Perfect." Whispered the British woman before their lips once again connected.

With that, Vi proceeded on her strides, dropping Caitlyn on the sofa and literally pouncing on her as if the Sheriff was a delectable piece of meat and she was a hungry lion. The sudden drop on the cushions coaxed a short squeal from Caitlyn, but any other vocal reactions did not make the cut. Vi had conquered the slimmer woman's lips like always.

A few moments after Vi had vacated the wall Caitlyn had tried pinning her against...

Jayce was already outside and was standing in front of the front door of Caitlyn's unit. His finger stopped literally half an inch away from the door buzzer the second he heard the muffled sound of glass shattering.

"What the...?" He placed an ear against the door, trying to catch any type of noises that could possibly follow up with the first one. For couple of seconds, Jayce found himself hearing nothing. The division of the door and the walls were too thick for the voices from inside to penetrate through. Therefore, not a quiet peep reached his ears.

He was planning on finally pushing the buzzer to see if someone would answer, when a brief squeal that came from none other than the resident of the unit suddenly sounded. It's as if the person's squeal was cut off by something.

Jayce's eyes widened. "Caitlyn? Caitlyn!"

There was no reply.

"Caitlyn!"

When he still didn't receive any responses, his heart started to be rapidly thunder in worry and fear. He didn't want to assume, but Caitlyn had recently recovered from a kidnapping incident. He didn't want to put her through that again.

Dropping the food he had with him to the side, Jayce withdrew his weapon from behind him. He used the golden hammer to smash through the wall, destroying the hidden keypad that's connected to the panel's lock. Sparks sputtered out of the ruined keypad, which became visible to him once he pulled his hammer back. The door hissed quietly before becoming ajar, wordlessly telling him that he finally has access inside.

Hurriedly, he shoved the panel open and stormed the apartment, weapon ready. He had only taken at least four to five steps into the unit when an audible yelp intruded in his sense of hearing, the sound originating from the living room. The hairs on the back of his neck stood, while he shuddered when a deep growl followed a second after the yelp.

Inside the living room and on one of the couches, Caitlyn was trapped against the cushions, while Vi pressed onto her and had sunk her canines into her neck, pupils immensely dilating at the taste of crimson.

Surprisingly, she wasn't in a frenzied state and merely consumed the blood that was mostly seeping out of the fresh tears of the skin. The bite had had hurt at first, but once the stinging pain passed shortly after it came, a pleasurable groan left Caitlyn. An ecstatic sensation had abruptly replaced the pain. It was a side effect Vi's satanic nature passively inflicted onto whoever she feasted on. It was to calm her victim and allow her to sate her lust for blood with difficulties set aside.

"Caitlyn!"

With a gasp, Vi's pupils returned to being snake-like slits, while her consciousness towards her actions returned to her full force. Pushing herself off Caitlyn and kneeling over her, she panted and exerted a massive amount of effort not to sink her teeth through her lover's already bleeding neck. She was too distracted with the sight and taste of Caitlyn's blood to notice their unexpected visitor from her peripherals.

"Get away from her!"

 _ **CRASH!**_

The armchair that was innocently placed at one corner of the room morphed into an unrecognizable mess the moment the Enforcer landed on it after being shot by a strong blast of energy from the Mercury Hammer itself. The force itself was so strong that not only did the cushioned chair suffer but also the lamp situated behind it. Its flimsy body broke and its light bulb fell somewhere around Vi, scattering glass shards on the floor area near her.

Caitlyn gasped, right hand clasping over the bite on her neck, while her left held a sofa pillow against her chest. She had seated herself and looked over the backrest of the couch she was pinned on a second ago. Her eyes widened when she saw Jayce still aiming his weapon at Vi, who remained motionless on the floor.

"Jayce!" Caitlyn called his name in panic, shooting him an incredulous look.

Jayce merely gave her a glance. It was quick, but he did notice the blood that was running down from Caitlyn's neck and over her shoulder and collarbone. Becoming more alarmed and more focused on making sure the _'creature'_ he had shot was dead for good, Jayce inched towards the fallen form with swift but cautious steps, his weapon still in its Mercury Cannon state and trained exactly on Caitlyn's unmoving _'assailant'_.

"Put your weapon down!" Caitlyn ordered him, a mixture of horror and disbelief painted across her face. "I wasn't...-!"

"Put my coat on." Jayce firmly ordered. With slight difficulty, since he didn't want to let his guard down against the horned being, he hurriedly slipped his brown long coat off and tossed it to Caitlyn's direction without a single glance. Once his coat left his hands, he continued approaching his target and blatantly disregarded the command of the Sheriff.

"Jayce! Just stop! Please!" Soft thuds signaled him of the sniper's upcoming approach.

"Stay back, Cait!" He called out to her, eyes intently focused on his goal. "I'll handle...-"

He abruptly cut himself off, while Caitlyn had halted behind him. In front of him, Vi stood up, unfazed with her state of clothing or the Mercury Cannon just inches away from her. Jayce can easily pull the trigger and send her through a wall in that moment if he wanted to.

Seemingly uninjured and somewhat unscathed from her crash through the furniture, Vi raised her head and presented to the scientist before her a pair of slightly dilated pupils. Her eyes were in the same state when she had threatened Villiam. Meaning, she's out for blood.

Before Jayce could react or even recognize Vi through the white tresses draped over her face, the demon woman grabbed his hammer and yanked him forward with it. Her remaining hand clasped around his neck, choking him in a blink of an eye.

Within a few crucial seconds, Jayce was forced to make a decision for himself, especially when his feet left the floor and he was lifted by his neck. His hands forfeited its hold around his hammer, the weapon, which the demonic female found no interest in, falling on the carpet with an audible thud. Both of his hands attempted peeling Vi's fingers around his neck, while he struggled to keep his oxygen supply existent. His efforts seemed to be nothing but a waste.

"Vi!" Caitlyn, who already had Jayce's coat on, frantically went near, placing her hands on the arm connected to the hand that was choking the air out of her friend. "He didn't mean what he did! Please, let Jayce go!"

Jayce honestly meant what he had done. He even felt a bit proud that he had _'saved'_ Caitlyn in time, but saying such would just be suicide. In fact, he didn't really have time to think of it, since he could feel the hand around his neck rapidly beginning to increase its temperature.

"Vi, please!"

"V-V-Vi...?" Jayce sputtered out with a huge amount of effort. Even when he's approaching the state of unconsciousness in a rapid pace, Jayce still felt confusion and shock consume his entire self. "H-How...?"

"Vi!" Caitlyn cried out her name as a form of plea, desperately hoping her words would change the status of the situation at hand. Her heart was beating crazily in her rib cage out of fear of the possibility that her beloved devil would reap her friend's soul from the land of the living.

...

...

...

...

...

 _ **Thud!**_

Jayce gasped in as much air as he was able to the moment he was dropped onto the ground and was given the miraculous chance to continue breathing and possessing an unbroken neck. He supported himself with his left elbow, while his right hand held his neck. He felt the light burn mark around it as he touched the tender skin with mildly shaky fingers.

Caitlyn wound her arms around Vi's torso, pulling her a couple of steps away from the hammer-wielder. She certainly had a lot to explain, but calming Vi was at the top of her priority list. Jayce was still breathing, but she was sure that just by judging from the redness of the skin of his neck, he was surely going to sport a burnt neck for quite a while, unless he went to see an Institute healer soon after this.

The hand stained with her blood caressed Vi's cheek soothingly, the crimson-painted pad of her thumb running across Vi's trembling lower lip. Caitlyn murmured softly in her demon's ear, calming Vi with her gentle whispers and the sweet scent of her blood.

"Cait..." Her name left the Enforcer's lips, head bowed and hair serving as a curtain cover from Caitlyn and Jayce's eyes.

"Everything's alright... You didn't kill him." Caitlyn told Vi, kissing the startled-looking demon on the cheek. "You did well. You controlled yourself."

Vi shook her head, refusing to make eye contact. "I wouldn't have..."

Instead of continuing her full response, Vi pulled away from Caitlyn and went straight into the bedroom. For a moment, Caitlyn was afraid that Vi would suddenly leave due to everything that had transpired, but when she heard the door of her bathroom slam close, her worry decreased significantly.

Making sure the coat was close before turning to Jayce, the Sheriff crouched down to his level and checked the seared skin of his neck. The bleeding of her bite mark had already stopped, which somehow told her that the wound had either closed or was just too little to profusely bleed like a gunshot wound. This enabled her to focus most of her attention on her injured friend.

"Are you alright?"

"My neck is hurting and I'm absolutely confused with everything that happened. That, and this entire scene is giving me a headache." He answered after a moment, groaning once he finished his last statement.

He was incredibly beyond being confused. He was plainly dumbstruck and in somewhat of a shocked state with all the things he had went through and witnessed within a quarter of an hour. Jayce wasn't lying when he told Caitlyn that he was developing a headache. Thinking and replaying everything in his head somehow helped him cone to terms with the events, but it surely assisted in making his brain cry for a break.

"That was Vi...?"

Even though she should have answered that question honestly and swiftly, Caitlyn hesitated for a few seconds before she quietly sighed and mutely nodded her head. Jayce, who absently stroked his neck, stared at Caitlyn as if her wordless reply was nonsense. It wasn't though, since he himself sighed and shook his head.

"What happened to her? Why does she look... different?" He asked, glancing at the open doorway of the bedroom.

"Neither of us could answer that question, but I intend to seek for High Councilor Kolminye's opinion and assistance towards this matter."

"And when do you plan on doing so?" Despite nearly choking to death in the hands of the Deputy, Jayce still found the energy to come off as a responsible friend who always found time to scold their other friend whenever they're involved with trouble.

The tone he used with his question though, it wasn't really the nicest. It sounded as if he was challenging Caitlyn.

"I've only succeeded in convincing Vi in staying with me, alright? Do not rush me, or her about any matters regarding the future." Caitlyn firmly told him, eyebrows furrowing and giving Jayce a look.

"Is hurting you a privilege you gave her when she agreed to stay?" Jayce asked with a touch of sarcasm.

"What? No! Vi would never hurt me!"

"Your neck."

Self-consciously, one of Caitlyn's hands wandered to one side of her neck. "She couldn't help herself. Despite of such, Vi had no intention in draining me completely."

"Caitlyn, you're talking as if you're alright with this Vi lookalike taking sips of your blood as if you're nothing but a blood bag."

"That's because I am," She returned in a harsh tone and with narrowed eyes. "and on the contrary, the person you're referring to _is_ Vi. She's no lookalike or impostor."

"Well, when do you plan on visiting the High Councilor, then?"

"I have not yet brought up my intentions about that with Vi, so the date is still tentative."

"And what if Vi doesn't want to make the journey to the Institute?"

Caitlyn sighed and stood back up on her feet, while Jayce himself stood along with her. He dusted his front and back, while he waited for a reply from the Sheriff. He was hoping her friend would look at the situation in a reasonable and rational light.

"We will discuss it, Jayce. If a clear answer is what you're looking for, then I'm afraid you'll only be disappointed." Caitlyn then crossed her arms in front of her. "Not only that, but you should know that you owe Vi an apology."

"I thought you were being attacked!" Jayce defensively countered. "I reacted like every rational person would have!"

"You of all people know that Vi was shot to death, yet here you were, shooting at her with your cannon!" Caitlyn half-hissed at him.

"I was just trying to protect you!"

"And I'm quite thankful for it, but that still does not excuse that you fired a shot at her." Clearly, Caitlyn would never let what he did go.

Jayce groaned and shook his head as a form of dismissal, feeling a tad bit exasperated at the conversation. He bent down and retrieved his hammer on the floor, strapping it onto his back again. Despite reacting for the sake of Caitlyn's safety, Jayce did feel guilty for opening fire at the Deputy. He never had intentions in hurting Vi from the beginning and that wasn't going to change anytime soon, in spite of Vi's new appearance.

"I bought you takeout by the way..."

"Jayce."

"Alright, alright," Jayce forfeited. "I'll apologize to her tomorrow. Let her cool down a bit."

"Good," Caitlyn nodded, while her expression eventually softened. "and thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Jayce scratched the back of his head as he started walking out of the living room and towards the exit of the apartment, Caitlyn following him a couple of steps behind at least. It's clear that arguing with Caitlyn about anything that might negatively connect to Vi would be a huge mistake on his part. He didn't want to push his luck too much.

His movements stopped once he was back out into the hall, form bending and hand reaching for the takeout he had abandoned and handing it to Caitlyn.

"I originally had plans in eating dinner here with you, so the food inside is enough for you and Vi."

"What about you?"

"I'll drop by at a diner again before going home." He waved off. "Just make sure you eat dinner, alright?"

The way Jayce worried about her showed how much he was looking out for her. If Vi was there to see it personally, Caitlyn was sure her lover would either be a bit jealous or happy that if she hadn't come back, at least Jayce would have taken care of her in a manner that came a little close to how Vi usually did.

"I will." Caitlyn's anger towards Jayce's actions diminished completely, her lips forming into a small yet genuine smile. "Thank you."

"So, uh, say good night to Vi for me, I guess?"

Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle at how Jayce seemed to be uneasy with interacting with Vi again.

"I'll make sure she gets your message."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Hey there, everyone! To be frank with all of you, I wanted to release this part before I lost my internet connection due to the bill not being paid yet. Unfortunately, I was too late. This chapter sat in my drafts for two weeks at least. :3_

 _A lot happened and are still happening, but it'll probably be sorted out soon._

 _By the way, this story is nearing its end. Last two or three chapters maybe? I don't know, I'm not really sure. Just want to give you readers a little heads up, ya know? ^u^_

 _As always, don't be afraid to leave your thoughts about this story, a suggestion for a different story or whatever you readers want to tell me. :)_

 _See you readers in my next update~ ^^_


	9. Chapter 9

**ACT 9**

The glass door and walls of the shower were moistened completely, obscuring the view at the other side, where a demon was seated on the tiled floor. The glass' state wasn't due to the shower though. In fact, ice cold water rained down on the lone occupant of the stall.

Each frigid drop of water caused hisses to echo in the bathroom though. The way the demon was overheating caused the water's reaction once it touched her skin and the one that was solely responsible for the moistened glass. Even with the high heat, the very source of it remained unfazed. Not a single drop of sweat materialized over her skin. Maybe because the shower was washing them off before it could be noticed? No one really knew.

Staring forward with a blank gaze, Vi looked absolutely out of herself. Right leg straight, left leg bent and leaning on the wall, her entire form was slackened. Even so, she still continued to radiate an immense amount of heat that was enough to turn the shower stall into a boiler of some sort.

Her mind replayed the memory of her nearly choking Jayce to death over and over again like an annoyingly broken record. As cliché as it may have sounded, it honestly made Vi rethink her decision in staying. It wasn't only that, but the fact that her tongue still tingled from the lingering sweetness of Caitlyn's blood was driving her mad with guilt.  
If Jayce hadn't interrupted, would she have drank Caitlyn dry?

Sure, she was merely consuming the blood that leaked out of the bite she gave, but would she have controlled herself if it had escalated further? Let Caitlyn bleed out until she could bleed no more? It was the first attempt she made in letting herself lose control with Caitlyn and despite the sensations it brought upon her system, she found herself regretting her actions.

And what about Jayce?

Would she have stopped herself from killing one of the few people she deemed a close friend of hers if Caitlyn had not intervened?

Vi's legs retracted until they were bent against her chest, while her fingers hid in her hair before it clutched countless strands into tight fists. Her teeth clenched, while she bowed her head and hid her face in her knees.

"I could have killed her..." Vi whispered quietly, while her voice echoed with fear for her own actions. "I could have killed him... Could have killed them..."

Once again, Vi found herself stuck. A part of herself desperately wanted to stay with Caitlyn and fulfill her role in the Sheriff's life alongside the said woman, but another part of herself has manifested yet again and was trying its hardest to convince her to leave and lock herself up in solitude. This particular part of her was deeply worried for what she might commit if her instincts as a demon were to suddenly take over and cause her to do something she would vastly regret.  
Like murder Caitlyn or slaughter Jayce.

The thought massively disturbed the perspective Caitlyn had given her.

Outside the glass stall, Caitlyn stood and contemplated if she should seek her partner out. Her eyes wandered from the fogged glass down to the steel door handle, which was visibly smoking after absorbing the heat originating from the demon on the other side.

"Vi?"

As much as her instincts were telling her to turn around and let Vi literally cool down for now, her recently mended heart refused to do such. It told her to grab the towel from the side and use it to grasp the hot metal handle for her to gain entry inside the steaming stall.

Vi briefly stiffened before changing her position on once she saw the door through her peripherals be pulled open. Internally panicking, she forced herself to lower the heat she was exuding, but it wasn't easy. In fact, it was taking a vast amount of effort just for her to lower it to a humanly survivable temperature.

Caitlyn kneeled and joined her on the tiled floor, honestly thankful that the cold water coming out of the shower was hitting her. Even with the cool drops falling over her, Caitlyn can still feel drops of perspiration forming around her body.

Unafraid of being burned, Caitlyn reached forward and cupped Vi's face into her hands. The skin against her palms were warmer than its usual and already unnatural hot state, but it surprisingly didn't hurt her.

"Cait, don't…-" Vi tried pulling back before she lost her grasp on her unstable body heat, but Caitlyn had no desire in allowing her on doing so. The British woman kept her in her delicate hold, inching forward and taking her lips to silence her murmured protests.

Vi's fingers twitched. Caitlyn gasped when she was suddenly pushed back. A clawed hand swiftly caught her head, while she was laid onto the warm tiles of the ground and her partner hovered over her with anticipation. She breathed audibly not only because of the kiss, but mainly due to the heat in the enclosed space they're in.

Caitlyn reached upward and clasped her hands over Vi's nape, while her eyes gazed up to those golden slits with absolute desire and not an ounce of fear. As seconds passed with Vi doing nothing but staring down at her with that predatory look, her breathing picked up even more. With her fiendish Deputy towering over her, the cool shower wasn't reaching her as much as it was earlier, which mainly explained why she was losing her breath even more than before.

Out of surprise, Caitlyn thrashed once against Vi, who abruptly leaned down and began licking at the skin of her right shoulder. She stretched her head to the left when that flexible tongue of her demonic lover started nearing her pulse and at the same spot where she had bitten her earlier. Once it did touch that specific area, Caitlyn groaned quietly at the dull burning that enveloped one side of her neck.

No, Vi hadn't sunken her teeth in her once again, but it seems like the physical contact of her tongue against the bite was sealing the small opening it was responsible for in the first place. When Vi pulled back and audited Caitlyn's face, the bite mark was shown to be not so visible anymore. Others would only know it existed if they were to touch the skin and feel it against their fingertips.

"I'm sorry." Vi whispered, expression blatantly showing how ashamed she was for her actions.

Caitlyn sighed. She honestly loved hearing Vi's voice and how delicate it sounded sometimes, but she never found herself liking apologies being said by her Deputy, even when she was still fully human. The once gauntlet-wielder's voice when apologizing never failed to become dangerously close to a defenseless puppy's whimpering.

"How many times do I need to repeat myself?" Caitlyn took her hands away from Vi, using them to push her up to a seated position. The demon before her adjusted and backed away enough for her to acquire her desired posture. "Don't ever be sorry about these things."

Vi averted her eyes from her, a saddened look on her face. "I don't know if I would've done it if Jayce hadn't come, but I could've killed you earlier... You do know that, right?"

"I do."

"Then, don't you think it's best if…-"

"Vi."

…..

…..

…..

…..

…..

Vi's sigh echoed in the bathroom. She shook her head and got up from the floor, immediately pulling Caitlyn after her. Once they were both standing up and both under the shower rain, Vi took hold of the Sheriff's cheeks and started a kiss. As expected, Caitlyn returned the gesture with passion.

Truthfully, Caitlyn was slightly confused. Vi didn't bother pushing more about her _'I'm a demon, so I need to leave you'_ issue. She was ready to intercept it before it became an obstacle in their relationship once again.

Those turquoise eyes of hers never left Vi's face as the said woman picked her up and carried her out of the stall and the bathroom with ease. Vi though, she kept her own gaze focused on her path. Caitlyn relished the short span of time she was offered, doing nothing but admiring the changes on her lover's appearance.

If the Caitlyn that had yet to meet Vi a few years ago were to see her now, the woman would probably stare at her with unfiltered disbelief and absolute shock. She was known for being strict and well in control with her emotions, but when she suffered the feeling of loss, it's as if everything she once was became a lie.

Covering most of her face with one hand, she shook her head and tried hiding the smile that formed on her lips. Her attempt was unsuccessful though, since Vi's eyes flickered to her face before it returned to its original focus. The bed. Once she was laid on the mattress, tucked under the blanket and in the arms she wordlessly deemed her solace, Caitlyn released a soft sigh of content, her smile so little yet oh so visible. Their drenched hair and moistened skin didn't seem to bother them as they settled on the dry sheets.

"I honestly want to say sorry for, well, being sorry, but I don't really know how to." Vi murmured, sounding a bit sheepish.

"Lend me your lips, then."

Smiling, Vi pulled Caitlyn closer and kissed her yet again. It was simple and innocent. Truly, it was a soft apology that made their hearts flutter in their chests. When it ended, Vi settled on shifting her place on the bed until she was nuzzling her head against Caitlyn's breasts, not that the latter minded.

"I figured saying I should leave would just have us going back to the loop we were in a few hours ago."

Caitlyn hummed, agreeing with Vi's point.

"Can I ask though?" Vi glanced up to the woman she's cuddled up to. "Was there something funny I missed out on? Aside from Jayce looking like he was about to crap his pants earlier."

Chuckling, Caitlyn asked, "What do you mean?"

"You were smiling. Still are, actually."

"I've just been thinking."

"About what?"

"What my past self would have thought of me if she saw me now and how I became when you died."

Vi thought about her words for a couple of seconds, fingertips tracing the lower curve of Caitlyn's left breast. "What do you think? About her opinion, I mean."

The smile on Caitlyn's face looked reminiscent. "The old Caitlyn would never believe how she would fall apart just because of one person. She'd think it's foolish. That love itself is foolish."

"Do you?"

"I did." Caitlyn then looked down, where her eyes met Vi's. "When I lost you, it was clear that love is indeed foolish."

Vi raised an eyebrow at her, while a mildly confused look crossed her facial features. She honestly looked charming with such expression.

"But I also realized that it's the greatest thing that a person could ever offer and receive." Caitlyn ran a hand through Vi's damp hair. "I'm rather fortunate I am able to share such emotion with you."

Surprisingly, Vi's cheeks became a shade darker due to the blood that rushed up to her face. Flustered with her words, Vi buried her face between Caitlyn's breasts, uttered words being muffled.

"No need to be poetic on me, Cupcake." Vi muttered. "You swept me off my feet the moment you said you had fuzzy cuffs at home."

Caitlyn lightly laughed at those words, while Vi just smiled against her skin when she heard her. For a couple of minutes, their time with one another passed comfortably in silence. The two felt like hours could pass and they wouldn't even notice it. When they're together, it's as if they're in their own little world.

"Cait?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think it could be like that again?"

"Be like what?"

"Be like it was before."

A full minute passed and Caitlyn had yet to give a response, prompting Vi to look back up again to check on her. The Sheriff seemed to be thinking about the correct words to use and for once, Vi was patient.

"…I don't think I want it to be like it was once."

Vi smiled a bit, knowing what Caitlyn was referring to. "Neither do I, but you know what I mean."

It was an effort to either stall or maybe change the course of their conversation, but Caitlyn already half-expected Vi not to fall for it. "I do."

"Well?" Vi wore a concerned look as she further pushed the matter. "You think it's possible?

"I honestly can't give you a sure answer," Caitlyn replied, an apologetic gleam in her eyes. "but I've actually been pondering myself."

"What do you mean?"

"Vi, maybe the Institute could lend us their assistance. With all their knowledge about magic and the history of Runeterra, I'm quite confident that they could offer us a hand on this matter."

"You think Kolminye and her people could help?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"If they could," Arms around her waist became firmer and tighter with its grasp on her. "do you think we could go the Institute tomorrow? Ask the High Council about this?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Cupcake."

Similar to a breath of fresh air, the two of them became entirely relaxed in each other's company. Their conversation about the matter can somehow be considered short, but only because both of them were anxious about it. Regardless, the point has been said and they already know their plans for the following day.

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

Traveling through the skies with Vi was an experience Caitlyn did not expect she would acquire. At first it was an exhilarating feeling, but the more their altitude climbed, the more did her heart rate. She's a _veteran sniper_ , so going up to precariously high places wasn't new to her, but being suspended in the air with no safety harnesses but the pair of arms that held her close and securely caused her to rethink her life decisions. Vi would never let her go, that much she's sure, but of course that didn't stop her from fearing the possibility of her falling from her beloved's grasp and end up as a red splat on the earth.

She was dressed in a pair of black fitted pants and a simple white tank top, which was covered by the violet leather jacket she deemed her new favorite piece of clothing. The pants were honestly too tight around her backside, but based from the reactions earlier morning though, the Enforcer didn't seem to mind the fit of the clothing.

Landing at the open gardens of the Institute, Vi carefully placed Caitlyn down. The Sheriff had to take a moment to compose herself, especially since she had just flown from Piltover to the Institute of War in the most unexpected way of travel. While she did just that, Vi, who had grown used to traveling that way, chose to look around and survey their surroundings. The colors green and brown mostly painted the area, so when Vi saw a streak of red and white pass between two trees a fair distance away from them, her interest was captured.

Vi may have turned into some sort of bloodthirsty demon, who apparently has somewhat commendable control over her thirst for blood, but that didn't mean she changed completely. She's still as curious as she was when she was human.

"Just a second, alright, Cupcake?"

Caitlyn, who was still in the process of putting her train of thought back on track, nodded and waved Vi off. The Deputy wasted no time in checking out whatever it was that she saw. As she drew nearer towards the direction where the two streaks of color dashed off to, voices reached her sense of hearing.

" **They are all true, are they not?"** The stress was evident just by hearing whoever it was, the natural confidence the voice carried contradicting its tone. Surely though, it was a woman.

" **They're rumors."** Came another female's voice. This one in particular leaned on the sultry side, but the way the person seemingly gritted out her response to the question made it obvious she was exasperated.

" **Was everything a mere act?"**

" **I told you, they're rumors. What can you not understand?"**

" **Was it entertaining?"** The one who owned the confident voice now sounded like she was so close in being sarcastic with her words. " **Were you amused with how much you have played me? How much I've** _ **imprudently**_ **allowed you to toy with me?"**

" **Are you deaf? What can't you understand with what I said?"**

" **Tell me the truth, then!"**

Vi finally caught sight of whoever the arguing pair is, surprise invading her whole self once she identified the two women. Hidden by trees and dozens of plants in the gardens is the _Sinister Blade_ , who seems to be in a heated discussion with the _Frost Archer_.

To avoid interrupting, Vi chose to use the shadows of the trees and the cover of the bushes to her advantage. As much as she wanted to give them privacy, her curious self refused to let her back away now. She wanted to know what the big deal was about, and why these two particular champions were conversing with one another in the first place.

"Well?" Ashe followed up, her eyes practically piercing through the redhead like her arrows would in the Rift.

Katarina took her gaze away, avoiding eye contact and responding from the demands of the archer. Of course her reactions caused nothing but irritation from the other.

"One good reason." Ashe then said, raising one finger at the assassin. "One good reason why I shouldn't cut you out of my life like I should have done a month ago."

…..

…..

…..

…..

…..

A gasp.

And no, it wasn't Ashe, nor Katarina.

Vi's instincts reacted and her hands shot to her left, where Caitlyn had apparently approached and situated herself at. The gasp wasn't because she saw two unusual pair of women interacting with one another, but mainly because one of them took the other by surprise and kissed her on the lips.

Eyes wide and hand still clasped over Caitlyn's lips, the Deputy and her partner was left to stare in shock. They could only blink at the scene before them, unable to look away from the shocking sight. When Katarina pulled back, she left Ashe staring at her with wide eyes and an empty vocabulary.

"You said one good reason, didn't you?"

Vi allowed herself to be tugged away from the unexpected conversation, Caitlyn being the one responsible for distancing themselves from the other pair. The conversation between only began when they were inside the building and were walking down a hallway. There wasn't anyone present, so it somehow gave them privacy.

"Wow..." Vi uttered, mostly to herself.

Caitlyn lightly shook her head. "We have enough problems as it is, Vi. It's best if we forget about what we witnessed."

"I guess we could try to forget, but really? Katarina and Ashe?" The demon's voice was a mixture of amusement and shock. "This'll be like the Queen's very own skeleton in the closet."

"Precisely. It's _not_ our skeleton to hide nor reveal. Let us not speak about it, yes?"

"Yeah, yeah..." For a moment, Caitlyn thought Vi would actually let the matter drop, but of course, "...but do you think they'll continue whatever thing they have going on?"

"Vi."

"No, no, think about it." Vi pushed, trying to explain her point. "If whatever this is going on between them, it's complicated and will surely be like some dysfunctional relationship."

"Your point?"

"Well, nothing really, but..." Scratching the back of her head, Vi shrugged. "...it kinda reassures me, y'know? If their relationship works, then chances with ours..."

Trailing off on purpose, Vi surveyed the reaction of the Sheriff, who seems to be pondering about what she said. It's true though. Vi became more confident in their relationship and its succession throughout their life. Speaking of life, that's also an issue that's been gnawing at Vi from the back of her mind. Now that she's a demon, she isn't really sure if she's still aging or not. She wanted to live a long life, not an eternal one. The latter would only be optional for her if ever the same can be said to Caitlyn.

A pair of hands gently wound around her left arm until it was practically being embraced by the sniper, whose lips placed a kiss on her cloth-covered shoulder before keeping her arm against her chest and in her arms' clutches.

"Even if the High Council won't be able to revert you back to what you once were, it will change nothing." Caitlyn stated, immensely assuring Vi and making her heart skip a beat. "Demon or not, you will _always_ be my one and only."

Just like the previous night, Vi's cheeks darkened thanks to the blush that took over her face. She pulled on her hoodie's collar and cleared her throat, trying her best not to be too obvious with how affected she is with Caitlyn's heartfelt proclamation. It honestly sounded fitting for a romance novel the British woman loves to read in her free time, but it still caught Vi off-guard. It wasn't everyday she heard Caitlyn confess her feelings with so much genuine emotion.

"This jacket." Vi pinched one of the leather sleeve for a moment, intending on changing the topic. She's the affectionate one between the two of them and the one that's more verbally expressive, but that didn't mean she'll instantly be used to Caitlyn actually telling her that she'll love her no matter what happens. "I've been meaning to ask since earlier, but I'm guessing you found it in my champion quarters?"

Caitlyn hummed and nodded. "Supposedly Heimerdinger and Orianna was asked to collect your belongings. We crossed paths on our way to the Institute and much to my fortune, they passed the task to me."

"Do you like it?" Vi's voice was hopeful, while her eyes had this shine that looked nothing like a menacing demon would show.

"I love it."

A wide and proud grin. "Glad you do."

 **"Sheriff?"**

Heads facing forward and gazes darting towards the caller of the sniper's title, the duo found themselves looking at Demacia's Wings, whose eyes were now fixated on the golden-eyed demon. Eyes wide and her pet companion, Valor, screeching defensively, Quinn was at a loss for words. The Piltover Enforcer may have underwent a drastic change of appearance, but she was still recognizable.

"V-Vi?" Quinn stuttered in absolute shock, mouth slightly agape. "You're alive? As well?"

Caitlyn would have began explaining to the best of her abilities upon how Vi had risen from the dead, but she and her partner were somewhat stupefied with the last part of her words.

"As well?" The two of them unintentionally chorused, equally confused.

"Have you two spoken to High Councilor Kolminye about this?" Quinn then turned to Caitlyn, glancing at Vi as she followed with, "About _her_?"

"Hold on a moment, Quinn." Caitlyn started, releasing Vi's arm and taking a step towards the crossbow-wielder. "We've only arrived from Piltover at least a couple of minutes ago. To answer your question, no, we haven't. But we fully intend to consult her about Vi's current status."

"I suggest you make haste. This unexpected turnout will surely turn everything around."

"Wait," Vi interjected. "turn what around?"

Quinn looked between the pair, eyes lingering longer on Vi due to her fiendish features. "I'll explain on the way. Come on."

Somehow having no choice, the two Piltovians trailed after the Demacian, who began heading further down the hall. Just from Quinn's reactions and the statements she was telling them, it looks like there was something bigger happening within the Institute.

"Well? What's going to be turned around?" Vi prodded, feeling slightly impatient.

Quinn glanced at Valor, who flew above them and screeched once at Vi for the second time, before answering. "You're not the only one who rose from the dead."

Caitlyn's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you two recall the consecutive deaths of four champions last month."

"Well, duh." Vi replied with a bit of sarcasm. "I'm one of them."

"The other three are Sona, Garen and Zed."

"What about them?" Even though Caitlyn was absorbed with Vi's death for the past month and was massively affected with it, the news about the other champions that died reached her.

"It was Sona's birthday last week and her Etwahl? We had it preserved in Demacia's War Museum. Exactly seven days ago, during an exhibit tour, the Etwahl transformed into some sort of demonic-looking instrument."

Just by hearing the word 'demonic', it made Vi think about what she turned into. "And?"

"Sona herself emerged from the instrument after its transformation." Quinn explained, her voice being enough to tell the two how she was still in disbelief about the story she's telling them. "Like Vi here, her appearances changed as well."

"If how we understand it is correct, then are you saying Sona is alive?" Caitlyn queried, her own disbelief ringing in her question. Yes, she just discovered that Vi herself, who's supposed to be dead, is alive, but that certainly did not mean she is used to the fact that people were rising from their graves.

"She is."

"What about Garen and Zed?" Vi may not be close to those two, but her curiosity wanted to be sated.

Quinn shook her head. "There is still no news about them, but most of the High Council think Sona being alive is her Etwahl's doing. Regardless though, High Councilor Kolminye thinks otherwise. With you, Vi, as another proof of the situation, it will surely provide the right push for the Institute to finally launch a much wider investigation on who the shooter is and if the one that murdered you four is the same person."

No further words were exchanged, especially since they eventually caught sight of the entrance of the High Council's room. Once the guards saw them, they were briefly taken by surprise at Vi's new satanic features. Despite that though, they recovered swiftly and immediately opened the doors for them, knowing their arrival involves the matter being discussed inside the room.

When the three of them did walk into the room, sequential gasps sounded throughout the people situated on their rightful places, while High Councilor Kolminye was left to stare at them in unfiltered shock.

"My apologies for the rude interruption," Quinn apologized with a bow. "but once I came across them...-"

Vessaria, who succeeded composing herself faster than the others, raised a hand at Quinn. "You are forgiven. Thank you for bringing them here, Demacia's Wings."

Taking that as her cue to leave, Quinn bowed again and murmured an _'excuse me'_. Once she left and the doors of the High Council closed, questions suddenly began pouring out of the High Summoners around them. They all had their own inquiries, which honestly made it difficult to understand and acknowledge. Instead of attempting answering all of them, or at least any of them, Caitlyn and Vi directed their focus on the hovering redhead a few steps ahead of them.

The said person turned halfway and made eye contact with Vi, whose instincts abruptly came alive. A growl left her, while the floating woman merely smirked at her in return, unafraid of her bone-chilling snarl. The demon inside her was struggling against the chains she bound it with.

"Sona?" Caitlyn called the mute's name with a stunned look on her face.  
Truly, the sight before them was shocking.

Instead of turquoise hair with blonde tips, Sona's hair was left to flow freely over her back and possessed a vermilion red color. Not only that, but the dark markings around her arms, the black dress she was donning and the menacing a looking instrument in front of her, all of them vastly contradicted with what she once was. Darkness and death instead of harmlessness and purity.

 _ **Slam!**_

Everyone's eyes, including Caitlyn's, Vi's and Sona's, shot towards Vessaria, who was now glancing between her fellow council members.

"I am officially initiating the League Protection protocol."

 **xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx**

 **Author's Note** : _Alright, alright, I know some of you think this story is still not going to end, but it is actually. This story is about how Caitlyn lost Vi but miraculously got her back again._

 _My point is, there are problems that have and will be mentioned in this story, but it_ _ **won't**_ _be resolved in this one. And yes, that means there's a possibility this will branch out into a_ _ **spin-off story**_ _, one that involves Sona, Garen and Zed and their deaths (referring to_ _ **"The Mind of the Virtuoso"**_ _)._

 _So far, these are the skins that will be involved in the possible spin-off story: (other than Demon Vi)_

 _-_ _ **Pentakill Sona**_  
 _-_ _ **Desert Trooper Garen**_  
 _-_ _ **Death Sworn Zed**_

 _This spin-off story is_ _ **NOT**_ _a priority for me, but I do have my plans drafted for it._

 _Next chapter will be the last one, which means the journey of this story is coming to an end! I'm sure some of you think I'm rushing to finish this story and all, but like I said, the plot of this story is already done and is somehow classified under the Romance category._

 _If ever I release the spin-off story, I hope you readers will be there with me as I write it, yeah? ^u^ (Don't expect it to be released any time soon though xD)_

 _Once I finish this, it'll finally give me the time to work on the_ _ **Diana x Leona story**_ _I've been mentioning from my other author's notes! :D (and along with that is the next Frozen Lotus story! ^u^)_

 _By the way, to those who message me in the FanFiction cellphone app, I just want to apologize for not replying sooner! I didn't know messages sent through that app can't be found when I open my profile via computer. I am also not sure if you received my replies to those messages of yours. Please, I really do reply to my readers. If ever I don't, try messaging me through the website, instead of the app. :3_


End file.
